New Delhi, Sep 24 The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has issued directions for a mandatory structural audit of all high-rise buildings, including malls, hospitals, and educational buildings, constructed before 2001.
The move comes against the backdrop of recent building collapses, including the one in South Delhi’s Satya Niketan, which claimed the lives of seven people.
“The structural safety audit is mandatory to be carried out by all the owners of all high-rise buildings (15 metres or above) which were sanctioned before March 21, 2001. The structural audit is to be carried out within three months,” said a public notice issued on Thursday.
The notice said even if a building (sanctioned before March 21, 2001) is less than 15 metres in height but has high footfall, such as group housing, educational buildings, hospitals and institutional buildings, cinema halls and assembly buildings, the owners of such structures would also have to get the assessment done within three months.
In the recent past, there have been building collapse incidents reported, which have claimed several lives in the city. The structural integrity of these buildings has come under question.
At Saidulajab in Saket six people died after a building collapsed and another building collapse was reported in Karawal Nagar, however there were no deaths.
According to officials, the notice was issued with structural safety against earthquakes in mind.
Due to its proximity to the Himalayas, the national capital is located in Zone IV, which has fairly high seismicity, where earthquakes of magnitude 5 occur frequently.
“Structural engineers empanelled with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, government institutes and other government agencies can conduct structural safety audits for the owners,” the order said.
After the audit, the DDA said, owners of the buildings will have to carry out retrofitting and corrective measures. In case of non-compliance, the order said, action will be taken against the owners.
In the wake of the deadly earthquake in Myanmar last year, which claimed the lives of at least 3,000 people, earlier in April this year, the Public Works Department also issued an order to survey and retrofit all the essential buildings to make them earthquake-resistant.
(PTI News)
