Kolkata Municipal Corporation issues new rules for construction, demolition of buildings
Violation will lead to the suspension of sanctioned building plans
Following the approval of Mayor Firhad Hakim, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has circulated a list of precautionary measures that are to be followed by all architects, Licence Building Surveyors (LBS), owners and applicants when an existing building is being demolished to construct a new one.
The civic body warned any violation of the rules would lead to suspension of the sanctioned building plan as per under Sections 51(3), 52(3), 53(5) and 55(4) of the KMC Building Rules, 2009 (as amended) and action will be initiated against the concerned as per extant rules.
Further, all sub-assistant engineers of the building department were asked to provide inputs regarding the above in their daily visit log entries and initiate action against the defaulters within 24 hours of noticing the default.
To avoid accidents to pedestrians, it was advised to erect scaffoldings and provide a net and proper covering surrounding the existing buildings to be demolished and subsequent erection of new buildings.
Vehicle speed needs to be limited to 15mph on the work site. For pollution control, it was advised that developers must maintain dust control during working hours and clean track out from paved surfaces at the end of the work shift/day. Further, construction and demolition waste materials need to be transported to the KMC material recycling plant at Patharghata, New Town. During construction work, including cutting of marbles, the ambient noise level should not exceed more than 65 decibels.
The set of instructions advised against storing construction materials without any cover. “Don’t allow access in the work area except work
ers to limit soil disturbance and prevent access by fencing, ditches, vegetation or other suitable barriers. Don’t leave the soil, sand and cement stack uncovered; Don’t keep materials or debris on the roads or pavements,” it read.
The instructions further read: “Don’t keep materials or debris on the roads or pavements. Burning of old tyres in hot mix plants as fuel during construction and repair of the roads for melting coal tar should be discarded.”