Go high with care!

K Ramanathan

 Real estate is no doubt a lucrative business, attracting many to taste quick success with minimum risk. Though a builder should be a qualified professional, who should have the understanding of construction techniques, the urge to make fast money has made fly-by-night builders foraying into this profession sans the basic knowledge.

A few masons and daily wagers are enough to make a low-rise building having three-four levels with 10-20 flats. No buyers will come to know about the type of foundation, quality of concrete, width of pillars, gravels’ size, volume of sumps and water tanks, quality of tiles and steels used etc. Rather, no one would be interested to know about these details nor the builders feel it obligatory to explain them to their clients.

This is surely an alarming trend and the recent building collapse in Moulivakkam near Chennai killing 61 people should be an eye-opener for the general public, builders and also for the policy makers.

There has been a lack of awareness about many important aspects of making buildings among home buyers and yes, lack of regulation also leads to violations by builders, most of them, however, go unnoticed in the absence of checking mechanism at various stages of a building, by competent government authorities.

As Chennai is one of the fastest developing economies with real estate being a major contributor of GDP, buildings are coming up in large numbers, both within and on the outskirts. Since the city is fast becoming hubs for IT, ITeS, engineering, automobile and education sectors, which obviously has triggered demand for housing under various categories, builders are on the spree to meet the demand notwithstanding the sagging economic scenario.

“When the demand is high, obviously quality takes the backseat as builders are generally in a hurry to complete the current project to launch a new one. Lack of regulations to check the structural stability has made their job easier. None of the sanctioning authorities come to the site to check the construction quality. 

As far as buyers are concerned, they simply believe builders and sign on the dotted lines. Not even once before completion of the project, they visit the site to check the quality and other aspects of the construction. Simply put, they don’t have an iota of doubt about the fact that builders can take advantage of their ignorance,” says Durai Murugan, a property consultant in Adyar.

Competency of regulators

Though Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) are the regulatory agencies empowered to approve building plans for major construction activities, the power to issue building permits is vested with local bodies like municipalities, corporations and village panchayats. Needless to say that heads of panchayats who ultimately issue building permits in outlying areas, as was the case with the ill-fated building, do not understand the requirements of modern buildings, as they have no technical competence to handle such matters.

On-sight mishaps

Also, it is not only the weak buildings which can endanger the lives of inhabitants, even during the making of buildings, if builders don’t adhere to certain safety measures, on-site accidents can cost innocent lives, warn experts.

Anurag Mathur

“Each year witnesses thousands of injuries and fatal accidents related to machine and equipment operation in construction sites. Some of these make news, while other go unnoticed. A lot of these accidents involve machinery operators, but over half of them involve people on the ground - spotters, co-workers, labourers, sidewalk superintendents and even passers-by, who get too close. There are several safety measures that contractor should be implementing at a construction site, but compliance with them tends to vary widely,’ says Anurag Mathur, CEO – Project & Development Services, John Lang LaSalle, India, a leading realty research firm.

There are myriad facets to construction site safety, which fundamentally include physical protection of the construction workers. The larger buckets into which construction safety falls include but are not limited to electrical safety, hazard communication and crane safety.

In terms of electrical safety, work on new and existing energized electrical circuits must be avoided until all power is shut and grounds are attached. All electrical tools must be properly grounded unless they are of the double insulated type. Hazard communication includes maintaining lists of hazardous substances used in the workplace, providing material safety data sheets, clearly labelling all hazardous elements and providing adequate and frequent employee training. Crane safety means, only properly trained and qualified operators are allowed to work with hoisting and rigging equipment, explains Mathur.

“Emphasising the need to follow safety measures from ground breaking until handing over the dwelling units to the buyers, N.Nandakumar President - CREDAI Tamilnadu and Chairman Committee on Affordable Housing - CREDAI National, says, “For low rise buildings the normal safety practices would require specific attention to construction workers safety, safety in handling of tools, equipment, plant and machinery, material handling, basic protective gear like safety helmet, gloves, boots etc for the workers, guard rails and temporary barricades preventing accidental fall in open areas such as terraces, balconies, lift, staircase, shaft areas etc will be a few basic accident prevention measures. Having a first aid trained resource on site with support kits is essential.”

N Nandakumar

 In case of high-rise multi storied developments a dedicated qualified and well trained safety manager should be posted on site and regular training and orientation of safety aspects should be imparted to all skilled/unskilled/supervisory and other staff members on site. Constant invigilation of the adherence to the safety practices implementation can avoid accidents, he says.

The major aspect also concerns the soil stability, structural design based on soil condition and the type of building proposed with due consideration of seismic zoning, wind pressures etc factored adequately in the design basis. Organised developers are already following these criteria in their MSB endeavours, Nandakumar, who is also Managing Director of Devinarayan Housing, concludes.

Experts on the job

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the building collapse, CREDAI’s Tamil Nadu chapter has constituted a 10-member task force consisting technocrats and building experts from Indian Institute of Science, the IIT-Madras and Anna University, to understand the reasons for the mishap and find ways to stop recurrence of such incidents.

The team has concluded that the faulty design and removal of columns from the original design has resulted in the collapse of the building, says Nandakumar.

The report would be submitted to the State government as well as to the one-man Commission headed by Justice (retd) R Reghupathy, who would inquire into the incident. The taskforce has found that the structure failed due to human error.

The accident also has brought to focus the fact that, to build such high-ticket projects, developers should look for credible consultants who can execute it flawlessly.

Dr R Kumar

Speaking to this writer about ensuring structural stability of buildings from buyers’ point of view, Dr R Kumar, Chairman of CREDAI-Chennai, says, “Builders are duty-bound to provide quality structures to their clients within a specified period, but unfortunately, due to price war, quality is being compromised by some. Buyers generally do not come to know about the quality of the building they buy immediately. But after a few months of moving into their flats, they face various issues related to faulty construction or structural instability.”

To educate CREDAI members and also others, the realtor body has decided to document safety measures and other regulations. The same will also be available on their website for buyers to understand various aspects of safe and quality construction.

When asked about documenting the technical details such as size of pillars, gravel, foundation depth, foundation designs, sizes of steel rods used at various levels, etc in the builder’s agreement, Kumar, who is also MD of Navin’s Construction, says, “It will be too technical for the ordinary home buyers to understand.”

People should check the credibility of the builder before investing their hard earned money. Though price quoted by quality builders may be little higher, when compare to other aspects such as carpet area, quality of the building, amenities and facilities, after service, etc, buyers will understand where to invest,” says Kumar.

One thing is certain. Just like how a homebuyer checks a housing document with the help of a legal expert, strength of buildings too should be tested by engaging private parties who are qualified to determine structural stability.