They built on quicksand of greed
DHARMENDRASINH CHAVDA
Before the earthquake on January 26, Ahmedabad was a distinctly divided
city like many other old Indian cities. There was an old city with
haphazard constructions, narrow lanes lined with buildings decades,
some even centuries, old. And there was a new upscale city, planned
with good-looking highrises.
In
the 30 seconds when the city shook, several buildings in the New
Ahmedabad collapsed. Not a single one fell in Old Ahmedabad.
Most
of the 60-odd buildings that collapsed were less than five years
old. Buried under the rubble of the new city, lies a story of illegal
constructions and blatant violations of building laws, which has
been going on with the connivance of local authorities, and under
the patronage of political leaders of all hues.
Take
for instance the 12 buildings that collapsed in the area under the
jurisdiction of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA).
None of them had the building-use permission. Not even the 10-storey
ones, like Shikhar in the Satellite area and Mansi in the Vastrapur
area.
Yet,
all had water, power and sewerage connections. Financial institutions
had given loans for purchasing flats. People were living in almost
all the flats.
Under
rules, a building-use permission is given when a structure is built
according to the approved plan. Minor violations are compounded
on payment of fine. Clearly, the violations in these buildings were
far more serious, making them unsafe.
The
nine-year-old Mansi Tower, whose builder Raju Vyas is on the run,
is an epitome of illegality. It has 30-odd illegal shops, built
in the area meant to be left open. In the 'C' block which collapsed,
causing most of the casualties, the 10th floor was occupied by a
businessman who had built his private swimming pool, a separate
60,000-litre water tank, and had extended the penthouse 16 feet
beyond the main structure.
When
the earthquake struck, it was this overloaded floor, with its projections,
the swimming pool and the water tank, that came crashing down, demolishing
everything in its way, and killing around 40 people.
Well-known
architect Balkrishna Doshi says: "When a building carries more
load than what it is designed for, it is dangerous. Unfortunately,
we do not take these things seriously.''
Mansi
is just one example of the contempt influential people have for
building bylaws and rules and the criminal negligence of the authorities.
Entire storeys are added, balconies covered and projections put
up without paying heed to the elementary laws of engineering, "without
telling the structural engineer'', said an architect.
In
fact, the builders have no use for engineers and architects after
the building plan is passed. In Shikhar complex, where more than
140 people were killed, there were constructions in the margin area,
and the floor space index (FSI) was far more than the permissible
1.8. When builder Satish Shah was constructing the building, the
`D' block had come crumbling down after a few storeys were constructed.
It was the same block which collapsed in the quake.
In
the Vidyalakshmi Apartment in the Sabarmati area, which comes under
the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's jurisdiction and where five
persons died, builders Bharat Trivedi and Bhadresh Trivedi had built
two extra storeys. At Akshat Apartment in Azad Society, the construction
was almost double than the permissible FSI of 1.8.
The
AMC and AUDA, whose job it is to enforce the laws and rules, have
rarely demolished a building for even the grossest of violations;
the only thing that they did was withhold the building-use permission.
As for the builders, certificate or no certificate, they manage
to get water, power and sewerage connections, and also arrange loans
for those who want to buy space in their buildings.
Naturally,
the buyers suspect nothing. Even if they do, the illegalities have
become so pervasive that no one questions them. Said Mukesh Parmar
of Sundarvan Apartment in Ranip, in which 24 persons perished, "I
wanted a house that was affordable. Here was one, so I bought it.
There was water, power, sewerage -- everything. I never felt the
need to check whether the building had building-use permission''.
A complaint has now been lodged against builder Amit Pothiya.
But
ask AUDA and AMC authorities whether the collapsed buildings were
legal, and they say they don't know. Both AUDA Chief Executive Authority
Bharat Raval and Municipal Commissioner K. Kailasnathan say they
have no idea. However, senior town planner of AUDA M.M. Bhaumik
admitted that none of the buildings in their area had a building
use permission.
TOMORROW:
If it's illegal, pay a fee and get away
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