News: Gurugram: Architects, engineers could face FIRs for building flaws-25-03-2022
The move comes against the backdrop of the vertical collapse of living rooms at Chintels Paradiso that claimed two lives on February 10. Residents there had for long raised questions on the structural safety of buildings.
GURUGRAM: The town and country planning (DTCP) department has warned architects and engineers of “strict action” if structural violations are found in buildings for which they have sought occupation certificates after conducting inspections at their end.
Officials said the architects and engineers could even face FIRs or their licences could be cancelled if they are found to be “habitual offenders”. The move comes against the backdrop of the vertical collapse of living rooms at Chintels Paradiso that claimed two lives on February 10. Residents there had for long raised questions on the structural safety of buildings. District town planner RS Batth said it had often come to the notice of the DTCP that architects had applied for occupation certificates of residential buildings in licenced colonies without verifying them structurally. “We have taken serious note of this. The department has now asked architects and engineers to submit case files under their signatures only after properly examining that the buildings do not have any non-compoundable or zoning violations. They have to ensure that the buildings are properly furnished and finished. Most importantly, they should be structurally safe,” he added.
KM Pandurang, the DTCP director, warned, “Architects who misuse their positions and certify faulty documents to get OCs will not be spared.”
Under the amended Haryana Building Code of 2017, the owner of a building has to submit an application to the DTCP only through a recognised architect. The department will grant the OC if the applicant is found to have followed all the construction rules.
“In the present setup, the main responsibility of the case files lies with the architects or engineers seeking the OCs. Many times, architects have claimed to have conducted site inspections and certified that no violation was found in the construction of the particular building. However, an inspection by the department proved otherwise,” Batth said.
In such cases, the architect certifying the building will be held responsible if any violation is found. “For habitual offenders, the office will recommend an FIR against them. Their professional licences could also be cancelled and they may be blacklisted from filing for OCs in the future,” said Batth.
