Bengaluru: Old buildings remain a threat as survey reports gather dust

A dilapidated building at Mamulpet in Central Bengaluru collapsed on August 6th morning, highlighting the dangers of weak and unstable structures in the city.

Bengaluru had witnessed at least five building collapses during the 2022 monsoon season, which had pushed officials into action. The then Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta had ordered a survey of all the structures in the city to identify weak ones. Though the survey identified 404 weak structures, according to zonal officials, only close to 15 structures have been removed and many others continue to pose a threat.

185 buildings identified

However, this was not the first survey the BBMP took up. In 2019, BBMP conducted a similar survey following the collapse of a dilapidated building in JP Nagar, South Bengaluru, and identified 185 dilapidated buildings in the city. Both the reports are now gathering dust, with no action taken on the ground.

According to officials from the South Zone, which has the highest number of dilapidated buildings, evacuating people out of the buildings was challenging since many of them resort to legal provisions.

Also Read | Bengaluru: Old building collapses due to rain, no casualties

“We have served notices to almost all the property owners. But, not all of them have responded and many others have challenged our assessment regarding the stability of the building. For instance, the 100-year-old building which came down at Mamulpet last week was served a notice. But, the owners had challenged our claim in the civil court, tying our hands from taking any further action,” said an official from the West Zone.

‘No response to notices’

Yet another official from the West Zone said the public was not cooperative. “They do not respond to multiple notices and evacuating them forcefully is impossible. Also, many of the owners do not have the financial ability to vacate the place and search for an alternative residence. We are not sure how to proceed in such cases,” the official said.

The officials from RR Nagar had a different problem, they are not sure how to force action on government buildings.

“Of the 11 old buildings identified in RR Nagar, two private buildings have been evacuated and demolished. However, nine others are police quarters. We had served them notice and they replied saying they will bring down the building and construct new residential complexes. They are yet to demolish these buildings and we are not sure if we can force action,” the BBMP engineer said.

Senior BBMP officials added that the BBMP had a severe staff crunch and a shortage of funds is making it difficult to take action. “Most of these buildings are not inhabited and we have served them notice. However, demolishing them is a challenge. The owners have to take action as we cannot enter private premises and demolish. Also, demolition of all these buildings is a financial burden for the civic body,” said BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath.

BBMP Special Commissioner(Projects) Ravindra said the zonal officials have been asked to
re-look into the survey and remove any dangerous buildings, which pose a threat to citizens.

Enforcement is the key

Civil engineers and urban planning experts opined that the implementation of the National Building Code (2016) could help prevent such incidents. “The NBC-2016 directs that once in five years, every building older than 25 years should be tested for structural stability. Since Bengaluru is yet to adopt NBC 2016, the officials do not keep a check on the stability of the buildings,” said Srikanth Channal, chairperson, Bengaluru centre of Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (ACCE).

Naresh Narasimhan, architect and urban designer, said present BBMP bye-laws do not mandate regular inspections.

For instance, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) has in its bye-laws made it mandatory for owners and occupants of buildings more than 30 years old to have them inspected every 10 years, experts said.

Though there have been multiple requests to BBMP to implement the NBC-2016, the civic body has not been keen, Channal added.

Tushar Girinath, however, said the owners and builders should be responsible to follow the NBC 2016.

“The NBC mentions the various practices to be followed during construction. The government and BBMP buildings follow these guidelines. The owners and builders should also be proactive and follow safe construction practices. It is nearly impossible for the civic body to keep a watch on every building in the city,” he said.