MH-COLLAPSE-EXPERTS

Mumbai needs enforcement of building safety norms: Experts
    Mumbai, Jul 16 (PTI) The collapse of a residential
building Tuesday in the congested Dongri area has once again
put the focus on Mumbai's stressed infrastructure with experts
and realtors calling for strict enforcement of safety norms
and regular audits to avoid such tragedies in the future.
    Every year, the financial capital sees instances of
building collapse, foot overbridge accidents and other life-
threatening but preventable incidents. The situation gets
aggravated during the monsoon.
    The four-storey residential structure in Dongri in
south Mumbai caved in shortly before noon, killing at least 11
people and trapping more than 40 people under the debris,
civic officials said.
    This was the latest addition in the list of such
tragedies in the Mumbai metropolitan area which is replete
with tales of sheer negligence and apathy by authorities
tasked with overseeing development and maintenance of
buildings and infrastructure assets.
    "Mumbai needs to urgently work on strengthening
existing infrastructure even as it goes in for new
infrastructure development," said Niranjan Hiranandani,
president of Naredco, a national body of real estate
developers.
    Earlier this month, the city witnessed instances of
wall collapse caused by the worst monsoon rains in a single
day in 14 years, killing over 20 people.
    Mumbai had received a record-breaking 400 mm of
rainfall on the night of July 1, disrupting rail, road and air
traffic and prompting officials to shut schools the next day.
    In another incident, three people died when a school
wall collapsed in Kalyan, 42km north of Mumbai. Besides,
around 200 metres of an internal road in the area caved in,
forcing 100 families to vacate two residential buildings.
    "The instances of deaths caused by building collapses
during monsoons have now become frequent in the last few
years.
    "Unfortunately, people continue to die, and India has
so far failed to strictly enforce safety norms for high-rises
in the country," said Ramesh Nair, CEO and Country Head, JLL
India, a global real estate services firm.
    "As opposed to the scenario witnessed in more
developed countries, India lags on implementing tighter norms
for the structural and fire safety for all kinds of
buildings," said Nair.
    He said a large section of the real estate development
fraternity is now aware of these guidelines and follows
necessary construction norms relating to natural disasters
such as earthquake, water, fire and floods to make safer
structures.
    "However, there remains a section of unorganised
builders who continue to flout structural safety norms. Law
should strictly deal with them," Nair maintained.
    At least six people were killed and 32 injured when a
major portion of a foot overbridge near the Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station in south
Mumbai collapsed in March.
    In July last year, the pedestrian section of the
Gokhale bridge in suburban Andheri gave way, killing two
persons and injuring three others.
    "The basic requirement is to decongest existing
overcrowded urban spaces by creating new cities in periphery
areas with mass rapid transport linkages to the CBDs (central
business districts), which will provide breathing space for
overburdened and overworked infrastructure.
    "We need to promote the idea of planned suburbs on the
periphery of Mumbai to de-congest existing infrastructure and
ensure ease of mobility," Hiranandani added.
    After every such tragic incident, it is often seen
that government agencies like the BMC, Mhada and Railways
engage in blame game and pass the buck.
    Mumbai Grahak Panchayat chairman Shirish Deshpande
said such incidents are not a matter of blame game and there
is an urgent need to look at them very seriously.
    Every year before the monsoon, Mhada (Maharashtra
Housing and Area Development Authority) and BMC (Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation) release a list of dilapidated and
dangerous buildings and issue eviction notices to occupants.
    "But while doing so, they do not take into
consideration where will the tenants go. We cannot continue
living with this and passing the blame.
    "With RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) in
place, we have asked the authorities from Mhada and the
government to sit together and create a regulatory framework
for redeveloping such structures in a time -bound manner,"
Deshpande added.
    Ramesh Prabhu, founder-chairman, Maharashtra Societies
Welfare Association, said the current infrastructure in Mumbai
is not capable enough to hold the burgeoning population.
    "On one hand we cannot stop the influx and on the
other hand we are unable to provide adequate infrastructure
and housing. This has resulted in mushrooming of slums," he
said.
    At the same time, there is no proper assessment or
structural audits of the existing establishments, Prabhu said.
    It is necessary for the government to take proactive
steps in this regard or else such incidents will continue to
recur with fatal consequences, he warned.
    Prabhu said the state government, in a July 4 order,
has asked the authorities to give priority to redevelopment to
buildings which are declared dangerous for settlement.
    "We now need to see how this is implemented," he said.
PTI PSK
RSY RSY

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)