Open House: What steps should Estate Office take to provide relief to owners for building violations?

Regularise need-based violations in buildings

In Chandigarh, houses and apartments constructed by the housing board have certain basic flaws like these have no sunshades, safety grills over external doors, windows and open balconies, which owners have install themselves by making some minor need-based changes. It is indeed atrocious to consider such changes as violations by the UT Administration. As the authorities concerned have not regularised such violations, owners have come out in streets and the issue has reached the Supreme Court. The UT Estate Office give relief to owners of CHB houses by charging a nominal compounding fee along with an affidavit that changes made by them do not alter the stability of the structure. If anyone fails to get need-based changes regularised by paying a compounding fee even after receiving notice he/she can be considered violator of building laws and be proceeded against.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh

Bring one-time settlement policy

The Estate Office should bring one-time settlement (OTS) policy for compoundable unauthorised constructions that have mushroomed up to a certain date. Buildings must not be regularised without compromising on fire and structural safety standards. Owners have to comply with safety standards at any cost. The OTS policy must enable an owner to declare compoundable violations and apply online, along with photographs of the building, to the competent authority. The applicant should be asked to submit requisite information/documents/plans and prescribed application fee thereafter within a period of two months. The committee must ensure that the Estate Office takes care of the interest of the general public and drafts a uniform policy for house owners.

Vineet Gandhi, Chandigarh

Give time to owners

I fully agree that owners must be given a stipulated time to submit building plans and no penalty must be imposed on them during this period. After the given time, the Estate Office need not spare any defaulter. Hefty fines should be imposed upon such owners so that there are no building violations. The Estate Office must not succumb to any political pressure while dealing with violators. There is a dire need of a strict policy to curb this menace of violations. Chandigarh is known as City Beautiful. Building violations will make the city look ugly. The issue needs to be addressed soon.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi, Sangrur

One-time relief for building violations

The Estate Office should give one-time relief for building violations to owners. The city has a sizeable number of senior citizens, who are surviving on their pensions in this inflation-hit world. Traders and small industrialists are already against the Estate Office as they opine that the Administration is increasing penalty year after year. The Estate Office should give one month’s notice to all violators and ask them to submit a revised building plan within the stipulated time. Those violators, who fail to submit plans, should be penalised.

Sunny Dhaliwal, Chandigarh

Avoid demolition of built-up structures

Over the period of time lifestyle has changed. The cost of construction has also increased tremendously. Residents prefer extra covered areas. The Administration has taken a right decision by extending the permissible covered area of houses. The Estate Office should take a lenient view in case compoundable building violations are within the permissible area. The Estate Office should legalise such violations through compounding fee or imposing suitable penalties. Demolition of built up structures in houses, considered violations, must be avoided.

NPS Sohal, Chandigarh

Families are growing

Violations can pose a threat to the base of the building and can lead to mishaps. Though it is wrong, residents are forced to make changes in their houses as their families are growing. The UT Administration should take in writing that owners, who violated building bylaws, are responsible for any dire consequences in the future. Also, the Estate Office should impose fine on owners for building violations and collect it in instalments as per their convenience.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Approve plans within 90 days

To follow the Supreme Court guidelines, building plans if submitted, should be approved within 90 days. This period can be treated as grace period. Thereafter, demolition drive should be started as the level of greed-based violations has crossed all limits. Nobody should be allowed to delay or derail the demolition drive of illegal violations otherwise the city will become another Dharavi.

KC Rana, Chandigarh

Basic structure must not change

In most cases, building laws are violated because of extended families. Servant quarters are an urgent requirement. The Supreme Court has given good suggestion to the Estate Office to constitute a committee to review building violations and give some relief to city residents without imposing penalties. The Estate Office should make sure that the basic structure is not changed. Violations should not pose danger to the building or adjoining houses.

Sukhwant Bhullar, Chandigarh

Don’t bulldoze houses

Building laws violations by the public due to need based changes may be regularised if they are structurally safe and not harm any third person. Due to increase in family size changes should be allowed as a onetime policy. Property tax may be increased accordingly. Need of the hour is to have positive approach keeping in view the growing need of the public at large and not follow the policy of bulldozing houses of people.

Col TBS Bedi (retd), Mohali

Approve violations for genuine cause

The Chandigarh Administration has totally failed to stop building violations in the City Beautiful because enforcement and field staff have not done their duties on time. Appropriate action should be taken against illegal constructions. It is the responsibility of the Administration to maintain the standard and beauty of the world famous Le Corbusier’s city. A window should be provided for the submission of the building plan. The authorities should also sympathetically consider the position and condition of residents, who have spent their hard earned money on constructing houses. Building violations for the genuine cause should be approved without penalties.

Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali

Impose penalty, regularise violations

Violations by common people should be regularised by the Estate Office by imposing penalty in same proportion of the covered area of the building. As far as the new construction is concerned the plan (map) should be submitted at the Estate Office. Officials concerned should visit the property, along with the plan, to see feasibility of its execution. If not possible then the plan should be altered, passed and stamped on the spot so as to save common man from running from pillar to post for getting it approved.

Savita Kuthiala, Chandigarh

Give relaxation to traders

The Estate Office must provide relaxation in building laws to traders and commercial building owners in the UT. Covering of the back courtyard of bay shops and internal portion of SCOs must be allowed. In order to provide relief to real estate developers and buyers, upper floors should be allowed for sale of goods and display.

Anita Tandon, Kharar

Discourage illegal construction in UT

Owners of houses and plots in the UT at first instance shouldn’t construct any structure beyond approved plan. And if they have done so, they must remove illegal construction immediately when asked by the authorities. By not doing so, they are facing unnecessary humiliation at the hands of authorities and also putting their original house construction and that of adjoining houses at risk due to forced demolition. The penalties to be imposed in this regard by the Administration should be flat in nature. It means that whosoever violates the building by laws by additional construction, he or she should be penalised on the basis of area in square feet on which construction has been done. The UT Administration must ensure that the basic character of the city remains intact.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Provide relief to building owners

The Estate Officer should take necessary steps to provide relief to building owners. In case of compoundable building violations, the Estate Officer should provide some exemption from penalties to owners. Steps should not be taken maintain the Le Corbusier’s City Beautiful character.

Adish Sood, Amloh

Evaluate violations

The Estate Office should constitute a technical committee of architects to evaluate structural stability of buildings which have violations. Clear orders showing compoundable violations should be displayed prominently. There should be time-bound approval of building plans. Providing relief to house owners by regularising compoundable violations after imposing penalty should be the aim of the authorities concerned.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chandigarh

City will turn concrete jungle

We need to relook into compoundable building violations as these have to be controlled. Every single violation will stop light and ventilation in house. This will turn the city into a dense concrete jungle with no greenery.

Mohit Bajaj, Chandigarh

Give Opportunity to submit fresh plan

The sudden decision to hike penalty imposed on building violations and misuse of premises by 400 times was a knee jerk reaction of the UT Administration. Such a huge financial burden is not justified. There was already a demand by residents to regularise penalty in a rational and genuine manner. The regularisation will facilitate a smooth transition to the new requirement of the building and premises norms. Over the years, need-based changes have been made in 50,000 flats. Nevertheless, the UT Administration has not regularised these properties and issued notices to most of allottees. The UT Administration should avoid long drawn litigations, which may come up in future. Another opportunity to submit a fresh plan without imposition of any penalty must be given to owners of houses and flats.

Dr Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh

Rope in RWAs

The brouhaha over building violations in the city has come to a screeching halt, albeit for now. The constitution of a under directions from the apex court asking the UT Estate Office to have a relook into the nitty-gritty of the compoundable building violations in the city is a welcome step to remove the Damocles’ sword hanging over heads of city residents. The very idea of giving them a window to give leeway to residents to submit building plans where no penalty is to be levied on them shall pave the way for resolution of the long standing issue. The UT Estate Office should rope in RWAs and convene sector wise meetings to discuss the pros and cons of the problem with intent to take it to a conclusive end. There is no denying the fact that building violations were apparently allowed to go unchecked in collusion with those at the helm of affairs, then why residents only at the receiving end. The department concerned should mull amicable solutions to resolve the issue, once and for all, as also to stop further violations. The benefit of the doubt should be given to owners by allowing permissible alteration in their buildings with symbolic penalty levied on them.

Ramesh K Dhiman, Chandigarh

Invite suggestions from RWAs

The committee should invite suggestions from market and resident welfare associations (RWAs) of the City Beautiful for regularising compoundable building violations. Minor changes can be allowed in buildings after payment of minimal fine. Structures, which pose risk to lives of the people should be demolished.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Regularisation will come as a breather

In view of the skyrocketing real estate prices, it is not possible for allottees, building owners, and businessmen to have independent premises. Consequently, owners of buildings are compelled to make some alterations according to their absolute needs. On the fair side, need based internal changes, which owners have already made in their houses and establishments, should be regularised as a matter of one time settlement. The regularisation would come as a breather for owners of houses and commercial establishments in the City Beautiful.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

New guidelines are required

With changing trends and increasing population density of cities, compoundable building violations are increasing rapidly. The decision of the Supreme Court for reconsideration of compoundable building violations is appreciable as new guidelines are required. But it should have penalties that are affordable up to some extent. This is to make building owners understand that it is a buffer or yellow zone for people with serious requirements of space. It should not be considered a green signal to jump towards major building violations.

Chetan Verma, Mohali

QUESTION

Chandigarh has witnessed encroachments on government land in the past. Following this, the UT Administration had to carry out drives to reclaim encroached land. What steps should the authorities concerned take to ensure that government land is not encroached upon by slum dwellers?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to [email protected]

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