Ahmedabad: Civic authorities may have launched a drive to prima facie inspect buildings housing PG facilities, hostels and dormitories after the Delhi hostel tragedy, but are missing in action on a key rule. Neither Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) nor Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) has enforced state govt’s rule mandating structural stability certificates for buildings that are 15 years or older.An official requesting anonymity said, “State govt approved Ahmedabad’s GDCR on Dec 30, 2014. For the first time, the document included a strict provision on building structural stability certificates. Under the provision, all buildings in Ahmedabad that are older than 15 years must undergo inspection and submit a structural stability certificate within a specific timeframe.” The official added that it’s been 12 years since the rule, but AMC and Auda have not found the time to enforce it.“Keeping Ahmedabad’s future growth in mind, Auda drafted the Development Plan 2021 along with the 2014 GDCR in 2014 and forwarded it to state govt for approval. State govt cleared the new GDCR on Dec 30, 2014. The structural stability rule was retained in the 2017 CGDCR. As outlined in Schedule 17 of CGDCR, buildings were categorised into two classes. Class 1 covered all framed structures, factory buildings, special buildings, educational buildings such as schools and colleges, hostels, and other public buildings. Class 2 included masonry-walled residential buildings with a height of more than 10 metres,” the official said.All Class 1 buildings were required to undergo a structural stability inspection and submit their certificate within three years of completing 15 years, while Class 2 buildings were to do so within five years of the regulation coming into force. “Auda was to establish a mechanism to implement this rule, but it has not materialised to this day,” a source said.The source added, “With the 2014 GDCR, govt intended to address Ahmedabad’s ageing, dilapidated structures and prevent collapse accidents. If an inspection revealed a building to be structurally weak, necessary demolition could be carried out. However, Auda has not set up a framework to accept these certificates, nor has it bothered to issue notices to buildings that fail to submit them.”Another official said, “The mandate is not being enforced due to inadequate staff.”BOXWhat does CGDCR say?The interval at which buildings are to be examined and a structural inspection report in the format as per Form 15 submitted to competent authority shall be as under:For Class 1 buildings erected 15 years before the date on which these regulations come into force or which become five years old thereafter: Within three years from the regulations coming into force. Thereafter at the interval of every 15 years from the date of submission of the first reportFor Class 2 buildings erected 15 years before the date on which these regulations come into force or which become 15 years old thereafter: Within five years from the regulations coming into force. Thereafter at the interval of every 15 years from the date of submission of the first reportBuilding categoriesClass 1: All types of framed structures, factory buildings, special buildings, buildings for educational use such as schools, colleges, etc., hostels and other public buildingsClass 2: Masonry-walled residential buildings with a height of more than 10m
