Carlton effect: All high rise buildings to be inspected

Ever since it emerged that the owners and occupants of the ill-fated building had grossly violated various occupancy and safety norms, all buildings in the City with four or more storeys will now be strictly inspected for any violations. Further, the various commercial and residential buildings in the City which have not obtained the Occupancy Certificate as required under section 90 of the Karnataka Municipalities Act,1964 will also be taken to task.

According to Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari, such violations "will give scope to serious man-made calamities in the event of fire breaking out either accidentally or due to mischief".

Accordingly, owners, lease holders and occupants of all high-rise buildings in Bangalore should carry out suo motu checks under section 70 of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963.
They should check whether their buildings are constructed and maintained according to the plan approved by the BBMP/Sanitary Boards and other sanctioning departments.

Guidelines
Guidelines prescribed under the Karnataka Fire Force Act, 1964, the Karnataka Fire Force Rules, 1971 and the Karnataka Fire Force Regulations, 1971 should also be checked.
If the norms and guidelines are being followed and the fire fighting equipment are maintained in good working condition as on March 1, 2010, the jurisdictional police should be intimated of the same in the proforma which can be downloaded from www.bcp.gov.in.

However, if the approved building plan is not being followed, the owners, lease holders, and occupants should take immediate steps to ensure that the buildings are modified to conform to the approved plan by June 30, 2010.
In case of violations of regulations prescribed in the various fire force Acts, they should take immediate action to maintain fire fighting equipment in good working condition by April 30, 2010.
CC must
In case the Completion Certificate (CC) is not obtained, such buildings should not be occupied until the Certificate is obtained.
Any person disobeying the above guidelines will be prosecuted under Section 112 of the Karnataka Police Act, 1963. Also, punitive action under sections 338, 304 A and 304 will be taken, Bidari added.
DH News Service