Letter to Govt. authorities

April 16, 2013

1.    The Hon. Municipal Commissioner,

Thane Municipal Corporation,     

Thane                                  

2.    The Dy District Registrar,

Thane City,

Thane.

3.    The Minister of Co-operation,

Govt. of Maharashtra,

Mumbai.

Sub: SOS - The need and importance of Structural Audit, especially in view of the Mumbra disaster and relating the issue to Saket Complex, Thane.

Dear Sirs,

Finally waking up to the horrific consequences of illegal constructions, the Maharashtra Government has issued directives to audit structural stability of new as well as old buildings in urban and semi-urban areas in the state.

However, this is not the first time that such an order has been issued. In the aftermath of the collapse of a Borivli building, Laxmi Chhaya, in 2007, a structural audit provision was approved by the legislature and included in the building byelaws but was not enforced. Had it been enforced on time, may be, subsequent incidents in Mumbai and Thane would have reduced.

Structural Audit

The general health and performance of any building depends on its quality of maintenance. As a building grows old, ageing, use (or misuse) and exposure to the environment can affect the health of the building significantly. Structural Audit is a preliminary technical survey of a building to assess its general health as a civil engineering structure. It is usually initiated as the first step for repair. This is similar to the periodic health checkup recommended for older people.

When to do Structural Audit???

Model byelaw no. 77 of Co-operative Societies specifies Structural Audit as a mandatory (necessary and binding) requirement. It stipulates that if the age of a building is 15 to 30 years, Structural Audit must be carried out once in 5 years and for buildings older than 30 years it should be carried out once in 3 years. One may however, go for it even earlier if it is suspected the condition of one’s building is bad.

Structural Audit is commissioned by appointing a Consulting Structural Engineer registered with the Municipal Corporation. The Consultant carries out as a visual survey of the building covering its faces, stilts, staircase, terrace, flats, shops and ancillary structures such as pump room, compound wall, etc. Repair history of the building and specific observations/ experiences of the members are also noted. Critical observations, probable causes of distress, remarks on structural health and recommendations for further action are given in the Structural Audit Report.

Exact details of distress at columns/beams/slabs (cover or core) whether the damage is 25%-50%-75% is specified.

For Building Repairs

As per law, the Corporation must be informed of any reconstruction or repairs (including vertical or horizontal extensions) being carried out anywhere within its jurisdiction. Any person who wishes to carry out some repairs or renovation must have an approved architect submit plans to the Department of Buildings in his ward. All such plans must be approved by the Departments of Hydraulic-engineering, Sewerage, Storm Water, Gardens, and Traffic. Only then can work be started under the supervision of the architect and subject to inspection by the Municipal Corporation.

Going by the government directives, civic bodies will deploy “beat marshals” in every pocket to ensure that no new illegal construction comes up. Like police beat marshals, the watchdogs- would patrol a designated area; on spotting any unauthorized construction activity in their jurisdictions, they are supposed to report it to the Assistant Municipal Commissioner. Punitive action will be taken if they fail to do so. Even the Assistant Municipal Commissioner concerned will not be spared if he does not act against illegal structures reported to her/him.

For the exercise, the government has asked the corporations to enforce a law that makes it mandatory for all buildings to conduct their own structural audit. The law says a housing society or an owner will have to select one of the empanelled engineers for the check.

The case of Saket Complex, Thane.

Saket Complex is a single society of 24 buildings by the name “Saket CHS Ltd.” The society has 672 members and was construted around 1992 to 94 period.

In the year 2002, the society had carried out partial repairs to all the buildings. Then again in the year 2010, the society conducted a Structural Audit of all its buildings and the report recommended extensive structural repairs as the Corrosion levels recorded in all buildings were as high as 50 % to 90 %.

The Society then proposed conducting the repairs but as there was no unanimity in how to fund the project – as  members were supposed to contribute huge amounts starting from Rs. 1.50 lakhs and up to 3.30 lakhs – depending on their areas, the project fell through and since then no repairs have been done to any of the buildings at all.

Many buildings of the society are facing the problem of leakages ontheir top floors – from the terraces.

There again has been a difference of opinion on how to tackle the issue. Some members are clamouring for putting up Sheds on top of the terraces – their logic being that if no water goes on the terrace then there will be no leakage.

There is another set of people, led by me and more, who are of the opinion that the sheds are – (a) illegal and (b) a temporary solution to the problem. What really needs to be done is to repair the terraces through a proper civl method.

Now a day, technology has advanced and there are many cost effective methods in tackling terrace repairs. There are manufacturers as well as contractors who give guarantee for a certain period to ensure good work.

However, in the General body held for the issue – which was very scantily attended, by a majority people opted to put sheds on top of the terraces, without doing any work to repair the terrace. The said work of erecting sheds on terraces is now going to cost Rs. One Crore appx.

Sirs, our plea is simple. Our society buildings are almost 24 years old. The Structural Audit Report done in 2010 had clearly indicated a Corrosion level as high as between 50 % to 90 % in each buildings and recommended Structural Repairs and strenghtening of the buildings.

However, the same has not yet been done. Also, in the interim period, many residents have made a hell of a lot of illegal alterations and modifications to their flats and may have already weakened the structures. Now, we fear that putting up Sheds on a structurally weak building can prove dangerous and disasterous.

Hence, we have been requesting the society management to either take a second opinion on the matter or take proper permission from the Thane Municipal Corporation to erect such sheds – comply with all the safety norms required – as our buildings are 7 storeys tall and have lots of winds gushing – and only then start work.

However, the society management is trying to bulldoze our concern by claiming that they have a majority passed resolution. (Actually on 44 members of the 672 members passed the resolution).

According to us, the safety factor of the buidlings and residents over-ride all other considerations. Hence, we are persistently opposing putting up of these illegal sheds on top of terraces.

We urge you all, that for the sake of all residents residing in Saket and their safety, please direct the Society Management to conduct a fresh Structural Audit to determine the stability of the building, report it to the authorities and take proper permission from the Municipal Corporation before embarking on erecting sheds on top of terraces.

Hope you will pay heed to our SOS.

Regards,

Dayanand Nene