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Govt. wakes to implement the building code
The government has finally decided to act in the direction of implementing the National Building Code (NBC), 2005 to prevent Bhuj-like disasters and ensure structural safety of constructions in the country.
The Urban Development Ministry has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that NBC guidelines should be made mandatory in the wake of earthquakes in Gujrat and Jammu and Kashmir. Both these earthquakes resulted in huge loss of life and property due to collapse of buildings.
The affidavit has been filed in response to a PIL filed by an NGO – Society for Safe Structure – seeking implementation of the Code.
According to the NGO’s General Secretary Anil Aggarwal, it is the constitutional obligation of the State to protect the life and property of its citizens and, therefore, the State must take steps for safety of buildings.
He pointed out that most of the major cities in India are under grave danger in case of an earthquake. Citing the Government assessment, he said that seven lakh people in Delhi alone would die and 28 lakh would suffer severe injuries in case of such a natural disaster.
The filed affidavit stated that the Urban Development Ministry has held a discussion with the Banking and Insurance Division of the Ministry of Finance to explore the possibility of insisting on NBC compliance for building loans and insurance.
The Finance Ministry has been requested to explore the feasibility of bringing about a system that makes it mandatory for lending institutions to insist on the necessity of ensuring that constructions are built with borrowed finance.
It has also been asked to examine how such insuring agencies can be made to insist on adherence to NBC specifications that in turn would ensure safe structures,” the Urban Development Ministry submitted.
However, it said buildings being a State subject, it would be appropriate if the court issued suitable directions to all the urban local bodies to adopt and implement NBC.
“The process of the Centre inviting all the state governments, having discussions with them and persuading them would be a long-drawn process,” it pointed out.
The Centre requested that “a certification with effect from a cut-off date may be specified by the honorable court so as to bring into force the provisions relating to structural safety certification. The architect or the structural engineer, as the case may be, must sign a plan at the time of initial submission and the structural engineer must be responsible for submitting a completion certificate,” it said.
The Urban Development Ministry’s affidavit is a significant step forward in view of the rapid urbanization of the country without any uniform guidelines for structural safety.
It is to be noted that NBC has been prepared by the Bureau of Indian standards and contains standards and specifications regarding constructions throughout India. It is slated to act as a reference manual for the various construction agencies.
It lays down a set of minimum provisions designed to protect the public from the point of view of structural safety, fire hazards, health concerns. While basic requirements prescribed by the Code are to be met, the choice of material and method of design and construction is left to the ingenuity of the building professionals.
The code also covers administrative regulations, development control rules and general building requirements, fire protection requirements, stipulations regarding material and structural design, rules for design of electrical installations, lighting, air conditioning and lifts, regulations for ventilation, acoustics and pumping services such as water supply drainage, sanitation and gas supply.
It prescribes measures to ensure safety of workers and public during construction and rules for erection of signs and outdoor display structures too.
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