Ghaziabad body to conduct safety audit of high-rises
GHAZIABAD: Alarmed by the recent building collapse in Akash Nagar, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) had decided to conduct a safety audit of all high-rise buildings in the district.
A five-storey under-construction building, which was due for demolition, collapsed on the afternoon of July 22 at Akash Nagar claiming two lives and injuring eight persons.
The safety audit, according to authority officials, will be carried out by teams of the engineering department of the GDA. All buildings — both occupied and vacant, residential and commercial — will be audited.
“The safety audit will give us a feedback on the issues with buildings in the city. Once the engineering department submits its report, we will be able to know about safe and unsafe buildings. The safety checks will be carried out for all buildings, approved as well as illegal,” Ritu Maheshwari, vicechairperson of the authority, said.
She said the teams from the engineering department will conduct checks about the material used, the type of foundation, load bearing strength and structural safety, among other parameters.
“I have asked the engineering department to draw up the parameters for the checks. A number of buildings in various localities have various structural issues and incidents such as the one in Akash Nagar may take place again. The builders there will face legal consequences as FIR is already lodged,” Maheshwari said.
Ghaziabad city, according to official estimates, has nearly 300 residential and commercial high-rise buildings.
“Most unapproved buildings have structural issues and the quality of construction material used is also not good. These buildings are risky for occupants but lower cost of flats prompt buyers to invest in them,” an official from authority’s town planning department said.
The building in Akash Nagar was constructed without any approval or map clearance and several buyers had booked flats and also paid money to the builders. The FIR lodged by the authority named only three persons but buyers and locals said at least five or six persons jointly were developing the property.
“The FIR was lodged only against three whose names we came to know through the available documents. It is now up to the police to investigate and find out if more persons involved. The buyers can either approach the court or lodge an FIR,” Maheshwari said.
At present, authority officials are acting against illegal buildings in Akash Nagar, Balaji Enclave near Madhuban Bapudham and also in areas around Crossings Republik Township near Shahberi. The small builders have developed flats, offering them to buyers for as low ₹7 lakh to ₹22 lakh, depending on the type of the flat.