Building it right

Here are some of the suggestions and amendments for BBMP bye-law 2020 made by experts of ACCE(I).

* In view of the building collapses in recent times and keeping safety issues in mind, NBC-2016 has made it mandatory to include set of drawings of plans, foundation and super structure drawings, service drawings including soil investigation reports for all types of buildings.

* Involvement of appropriate professionals is not being implemented currently and hence the bye-laws should be specific while assigning technical responsibilities. E.g: Banning non-civil engineers from issuing stability certificates, banning non-technical personnel from building construction activities.

* NBC-2016 has moved forward in specifying engagement of appropriate professionals during the process of obtaining building permit itself by insisting on obtaining engagement certificates from the professionals. BBMP bye-laws are yet to recognise this important fact.

* BBMP bye-laws have failed to recognise the profession of Civil Engineer/ Structural Engineer/ Geotechnical Engineer/ PHE/ Service Engineer. These professions have to be accepted to be part of the building permit process.

* The bye-laws have focused mainly on high-rise buildings. These types of buildings account for only 1.6% of the total buildings in the country. The bye-laws are silent on safety specifications when it comes to smaller buildings like G+4 and below, which form 98.4% of the total buildings. Eg: Bye-laws insist on earthquake-resistant designs for high-rise buildings, while no such mandatory provisions are made for smaller buildings – as though the smaller buildings will not get affected by earthquakes.

* The height of basement/ parking floor is ambiguously presented as 2.4m in some places and 2.75m in some other places of the draft bye-laws. 2.4m is impractical. Hence 2.75m should be adopted.

* Safety auditing (Structural/ Electrical/ Fire etc.,) of buildings shall be made mandatory every 5 years after 20 years’ life of the building.

* There are sanction process issues that are creating hurdles for consultants. The same have to be ironed out. E.g: Monopoly of the software used. The bye-laws insist on using expensive CAD software even though lesser expensive softwares are also available. Hence the sanction process should not insist on use of monopoly software.

* Tolerance limits for plot/ building measurements shall be specified in the bye-laws, so as to avoid harassment to the citizens.