When the builder of Giriraj Avenue in Vasna began construction, he had approval for 16 flats. Three years later, 30 flats were standing on that very plot. Clearly, 14 of the flats were illegal. But AUDA ensured that they stayed put, after charging builder Tulsidas Sanghvi Rs 5 lakh. The building collapsed in the January 26 earthquake.

At a time when there was no government order, AUDA Assistant Town Planners (ATPs) had openly claimed that ‘‘illegal constructions’’ could be allowed. All the builders had to do was pay a certain amount as penalty, following which the construction was certified by an ATP who issued permissions which read: ‘‘By an order of the government, this part of illegal construction has been allowed.’’ But AUDA kept an ace up its sleeve: all these buildings were not given the building use (BU) permission. They were allowed to come up, yet remained illegal.

Interestingly, the state government says it has never issued such orders before it introduced the impact fee provision in November 2000. Giriraj Avenue is not a case in isolation.

It happened everywhere be it Himgiri Apartments, Akshar Flats or Akshar Apartments in Satellite. Four penthouses were constructed atop Himgiri Apartments, which collapsed in the earthquake, killing 15 people. The building had been legalised by ATP K.S. Gajjar, who in his final report on April 8, 1999 wrote that ‘‘acting on an order of the state government, the additional construction had been allowed’’. The building also had an illegal cellar and six feet of cantilever. All builder Chandravadan Modi was made to pay was an ‘‘impact fee’’ of Rs 1,70,562.

When contacted, Gujarat Urban Development Minister Parmanand Khattar told The Indian Express: ‘‘There is no question of collecting such fees from builders or from occupants of the building by any civic body before December 2000. If someone has done it, the state government has no knowledge and this is also illegal as we did not issue any such order.’’ However in the very first week of December AUDA chairman Surendra Patel admitted that the civic body had collected Rs 40 crore from builders involved in illegal constructions. Patel was not available for comment.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Authority of AUDA Bharat Rawal brushed aside all such charges, saying: ‘‘There is no such case of legalising illegal construction by accepting fees from the builders.’’ The discrepancies are mounting and an indictment comes from a senior official of National Council of Building Materials (NCBM), New Delhi, who surveyed some of these illegal buildings.

‘‘After surveying all the collapsed buildings, we have noticed one thing in common the buildings collapsed because of horizontal and vertical loads that were disproportionate to the columns. AUDA cannot wash its hands off as it has legalised these structures,’’ he said.

Other stories in the series
» Gujarat building mafia erects a wall for cops
» Builders make getaway as police collect proof
» His building killed 100, he’s on the run, his files missing
» Buck-passing shatters survivors' hopes
» In Ahmedabad, crooks build dreams to let them crash
» Officials, professionals hand in glove with builders
» The politician is the builder's best friend here
» Builders were crooks, govt was an accomplice
» They built on quicksand of greed