Unauthorised constructions: GMC flooded with complaints

GUWAHATI, March 4: The Gujarat earthquake has turned into a wake-up call for the citizens of Guwahati, resulting in the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) being flooded with complaints of unauthorised constructions. The GMC Commissioner, A K Bhutani, has asserted that the Commission would not tolerate any unauthorised construction in the city. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, Bhutani said about a hundred buildings are under scrutiny by the GMC in Guwahati. He said that in recent weeks, the GMC had received about 250 complaints, including about a hundred through e-mail, about unauthorised construction. The GMC Commissioner said that there had been a lot of cases of diversions of the actual building plans ranging from minor diversions like encroachment of approach roads to major violation of the laws like construction of buildings without any valid permission. He revealed that the houses under scrutiny are measured by the GMC engineers and show-cause notices are issued to the owners. "Then we compare the measurements by our engineers and those provided by the building owners. The owners are then called for a hearing. The minor variations can be regularised with a fine as per the building by-laws and in case of major variations, the owners are issued notice to 'remove' the construction. Recently, in three cases, unauthorised constructions were removed by the owners and whenever we have to remove an unauthorised construction, we forward a bill to the owners for the cost incurred by us." He further revealed that in the last 25 years, at least 10 unauthorised constructions including two floors of a prominent hotel were demolished. Commenting on the safety of the buildings, Bhutani said the GMC has started preparing a data-base of buildings which are three or more stories tall and requested the state government to formulate a team of experts in structural engineering to study the vulnerability of the buildings. Bhutani said the GMC has started the process of examining the structural designs of the school buildings. Notices have been issued to the authorities of 27 school buildings which are more than single story tall, to submit the plans and drawings of the buildings. "We shall examine the structural designs, staircases, open spaces, entry and exit routes, etc. of the schools, as these aspects are vital for the safety of the children in case of disaster like an earthquake," he added. The GMC has also issued notices to the owners of the "very high-rise buildings" to submit their structural designs so that these can be examined properly. The GMC Commissioner expressed serious concern at the haphazard constructions in the hills surrounding Guwahati city and admitted that such buildings can spell disaster in case of a major earthquake. He also admitted that most of the houses in the hills are unauthorised constructions as these are constructed on Government land.