National

Shaking In The Knees

The states have not moved on the government's building code framed a year ago, citizens be damned

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Shaking In The Knees
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An earthquake of high intensity, and Delhi and other high-risk cities could be reduced to a mound of rubble. Despite the imminent danger, the Centre, instead of taking action, would rather pass the onus of ensuring safe buildings on to its citizens (see interview). Over a year ago, the Union home ministry drafted a model for town and country planning legislation for states straddling fault lines. Not a single state government has yet passed this legislation. Even Delhi—living under the constant threat of losing tens of thousands of lives in a killer quake—is still grappling with a draft bill to amend its municipal corporation bylaws.

In the wake of the ’01 Gujarat quake, the Centre had admitted that "the earthquake-resistant design codes are generally not followed except by some government departments". The Bureau of Indian Standards revised its code IS:1893 in ’02. But the model legislation of September ’04—which could enforce the codes and instil discipline and accountability among authorities, builders and professionals—is taking too long to enter the statute books. Here’s how the proposed law would help property buyers: 

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  • Metropolitan planning and development authorities would have to prepare land use maps indicating the hazard-proneness of various parts of the city. 
  • Land use would thus be regulated according to vulnerability, thereby bringing in restrictions on the number of storeys, and size of buildings. For instance, high-rises will not be allowed where the land sinks when the ground shakes.
  • As part of development control regulations, the builder and professionals registered with local authorities would have to give undertakings on safety and quality.
  • Builders would have to seek the services of professionals registered with development authorities or municipal 
    corporations.
  • These professionals "on record" would be made accountable through signed declarations of safety and quality. They would include town planners, architects, structural engineers, structural design agencies, geotechnical engineers, construction engineers, quality auditors and quality audit agencies.
  • The builder "shall not cause or allow any deviations from the approved drawings and shall bear all responsibility for any irregularity committed in the use and function of the building".

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The 16 forms prescribed in the model legislation to be filled up and certified by developers and authorities would make it impossible for the authorities to shirk responsibility in the event the building collapses or suffers damage due to an earthquake. Yet, given the builder-politician nexus, these grand intentions may never be translated into laws or enforced.

The challenge, however, lies in salvaging existing structures that account for the bulk of buildings, with just 2-3 per cent new ones getting added every year. Hardly any testing happens in cities like Delhi where 80 per cent of buildings are deemed unsafe. Any seismologist would point out that a high-rise with an open ground floor could cause a collapse. Says Prof S.K. Jain of iit Kanpur: "If you tell a resident his house is at risk and that he should shell out Rs 2-3 lakh for retrofitting it, he may not agree. But if the government gives tax breaks for money spent on retrofitting, the same person may have a rethink. In Ahmedabad, 130 buildings on stilts or open ground floors collapsed during the Bhuj earthquake. Bhuj was 300 km away from Ahmedabad. We could imagine what would happen to the high-rises in Delhi if an earthquake strikes the Himalayas 300 km away."

High-rises on stilts need shear walls on all four sides or bracings of steel or brick infills. Other weak structures could be reinforced with horizontal seismic belts fixed just above the lintels of door and window openings; similar belts could be added below the roof too. Wall junctions could be strengthened by vertical seismic belts and doors and windows could be strengthened by belts with galvanised welded steel wire mesh.

All it would take to avoid a catastrophe like Muzaffarabad is to get structural engineers to examine buildings and explain the risks involved. Right now the government wants people to get such assessments done on their own. Many wouldn’t even know who or where to turn to.

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