Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Corporation team inspects complexes

Special Correspondent

Detects violation of approved building plans; issues notice to owners

Thiruvananthapuram: Mayor C. Jayan Babu said here on Tuesday that the City Corporation would deny operational licence for commercial complexes deviating from the approved building plan and diverting parking space earmarked for customers. He was speaking after a high-level Corporation team inspected two shopping malls in the city to detect building rule violations.

The team found that about 40 per cent of the parking space in the building housing the Big Bazaar hypermarket at East Fort was walled off to accommodate office rooms. They also came across unauthorised temporary structures within the premises. Team members said the owners had failed to produce the mandatory certificate from the Corporation for the back-up power generator.

After the inspection, the Mayor directed Town Planning officials to issue notice to the owners of the building asking them to demolish the unauthorised structures and restore the parking area shown in the approved building plan.

The team inspected the high-rise shopping mall under construction opposite the office of the Accountant General at Statue. “Our preliminary finding is that the builders have made some deviations from the plan. They have constructed steps in a portion of the area earmarked for car parking in front of the building. We have made it clear that the building would not be approved for occupation unless the violations are corrected,” the Mayor said. The Town Planning Committee was asked to examine the building plan to verify more violations.

He added that the Corporation would adopt a stern stand on the rules specifying parking facilities for commercial buildings. “Even in commercial complexes that adhere to the rules, the parking space is hardly adequate to accommodate the vehicles of the staff. The situation is the same in hospitals also. The building rules will have to be amended to earmark a larger area for parking in high-footfall buildings,” he said.

The Mayor said the Corporation would inspect other commercial complexes to check the availability of parking space. “The only solution to the traffic problems caused by large shopping centres is to locate them away from the congested core areas of the city,” he said.

The inspection team included Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash, Town Planning Committee chairman Satheeskumar, Corporation Secretary Johnson K. George, Town Planning Officer Anandraj and other department officials.

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