‘Civil structures need to be disaster resistant’
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While the advisories and guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority reiterate the need for earth quake resistant structures, what remains as an unanswered question is whether compliance will be out of volition or should be enforced, writes V.S. Palaniappan.
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— File Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
Calamity strikes: The residents of Delhi experienced an earthquake early morning on October 8, 2005. The quake resulted in an estimated loss of more than a thousand lives in Pakistan and about a hundred in India.
Property seekers should soon start looking out for one more ingredient when they decide to buy a building - whether the structure is disaster resistant. This may not be a value addition any longer as it is expected to become mandatory in the near future.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) established through an Act of Parliament in December 2005 had already come out with a set of guidelines on disaster management, prevention and mitigation for both man made and natural disasters. With a sizeable portion of Tamil Nadu coming under Zone III of the seismic activity, especially the northern and Western Tamil Nadu, the preparedness levels continues to remain in question.
The NDMA strongly believes in bringing about a disaster management plan that is more preparedness oriented rather than relief and rescue oriented.
The proactive measures are aimed at mitigating the consequence levels.
Guidelines
According to Senior Specialist (Training and Capacity Development), Brigadier Dr. B.K. Khanna, the guidelines have called for earth quake resistant/disaster resistant structures in Government buildings in the first phase. The NDMA has suggested that all new Government buildings have to be built with earth quake resistant technology.
It is for the State Governments to identify the lifeline buildings and retrofit them with earth quake resistant technology.
Lifeline buildings are defined as those that control the administration i.e., rescue and relief operations such as the offices of the District Collectors, Fire and Rescue Service Stations, school buildings and hospital buildings. The guidelines are part of the advisories issued on the medical preparedness and mass causality management.
The States would have to identify the buildings and list them out preparing a budget for retrofitting them so that the works could be carried out by the State with the financial assistance from the Centre. The entire exercise is to build a disaster resilient India, he says. To ensure implementation of the Guidelines, the NDMA with the help of the Central Government is on the job of constituting a National Advisory Committee that will monitor the implementation of these guidelines and the body will be led by the Secretary to Union Ministry of Home Affairs with representation from every State. The monitoring of implementation will soon begin.
With regard to civilian buildings, in the absence of a law, the NDMA has already advised the bankers/funding institutions to ensure that they sanction loans only for buildings that have disaster resistant technology as an integral part of the building plan.
NDMA also plans to interact and closely liaision with the local bodies through the respective State Governments to ensure that future civilian buildings are earth quake resistant.
Brigadier B.K. Khanna says that so far the response has been good and in the long run, if the required compliance levels did not come up, then probably NDMA would consider the option of suggesting to the Government to bring in a law that would insist on buildings being earth quake resistant. As of now, National Disaster Management Act has a penalty structure wherein the official who granted the NOC or approval and contractor who executed the project could be fined for failure to provide earth quake resistant components in the building.
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