Illegal construction begins at Sec 17 collapsed bldg site, DC orders probe

Time of India

2 days ago

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Chandigarh: In what it appears to be a blatant violation of norms, illegal construction has started at a site in Sector 17 which once housed a famous three-bay building that collapsed on Jan 6 all due to gross negligence and violation of safety measures.
While the debris of the collapsed building was cleared from the site a few days back, multiple iron columns have now come up at the spot despite the fact that the UT estate office has not approved a revised building plan for the site so far. The estate office has now decided to probe the entire matter.
With the said site being completely covered from all sides with huge tin sheds, the iron columns are not visible from the ground level.
But these can be clearly seen from upper storeys of nearby buildings. The TOI too captured a clear view of the site and found fresh iron columns installed at the spot, indicating that the work has been going on for the past few days.
Nishant Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner (DC)-cum-estate officer of the Chandigarh administration, said, "No revised building plan for the collapsed building in Sector 17 has been approved till date.
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In fact, no building plan has been submitted for approval at the estate office. In the absence of the revised building plan, no construction is allowed at the collapsed building site."
Sources in the Chandigarh administration revealed that there is a laid-down process and procedure for constructing commercial and residential buildings in Chandigarh. "For commercial buildings, applications for building plans must be submitted to the UT estate office.
The Chandigarh administration's technical and administrative staff review the plan at designated stages. Upon successful completion of all steps, the Estate Office issues the building plan, authorising construction in accordance with Estate Rules and regulations.
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"Additionally, the Chandigarh administration has established a plan approval committee (PAC), consisting of senior technical and administrative officers from various departments, including engineering and architecture.
For significant and critical building approval cases, the PAC conducts thorough evaluations, considering all relevant rules and standards before reaching decisions on submitted building plans," sources added.
The structural integrity of the building adjacent to the collapsed area appears severely compromised, with visible deterioration evident across various sections of its exterior. A thorough assessment is necessary to determine if installing iron columns at the impacted location would be a feasible solution, given the concerning state of the surrounding structure.
Following the collapse, the UT administration had already sent its detailed fact-finding report to Chandigarh Police to probe the matter.
Major lapses led to collapse
Jan 6 | Just 10 days after it was declared unsafe for occupancy, a three-bay building in Chandigarh's one of most important commercial hubs, Sector 17, collapsed in the early hours on Monday. The structure (SCO 183-185) had been evacuated and sealed off since December 27 after being deemed unsafe.
Jan 28 | Almost three weeks after the collapse of a building in Sector 17 on Jan 6, UT Police have filed a case against nine individuals for allegedly making structural modifications which caused the incident.
April 20 | UT administration began removing debris from the building that collapsed in Sector 17. The work is supervised by the National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research (NITTTR).
April 27 | The fact-finding inquiry report of the UT administration found both the lessee and owner of the building in Sector 17 responsible for its collapse.
In his detailed inquiry, the SDM of the Chandigarh administration's central division found that despite knowing that the structural stability certificate had not been procured, they renovated and altered the structure, ignoring the possible risks.
The report revealed that no safety measures had been taken even during repair work of the building. Moreover, no revised building plans had been passed by the estate office, and an objection was already placed. However, the lessee and owner ignored this and initiated renovation work.