Officials, professionals hand in glove with builders

Officials, professionals hand in glove with builders
DHARMENDRASINH CHAVDA

AHMEDABAD, FEB 11: As if the building mafia was not enough, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority contributed equally to the flourishing illegal construction trade in the city. Besides, there are any number of architects and engineers willing to do the builders' bidding.

On paper, there is everything -- the zoning regulations, the bylaws and the rules. The AMC's Town Development Office and the office of the Chief Town Planner in AUDA examine every building plan before affixing their stamp of approval. But that's about all they do.

Most builders these days make two plans: one which is submitted for approval and is, therefore, technically perfect, and the other what they actually want to construct. In the second plan, all sorts of changes are made to cut costs and also to make the accommodation attractive for the lay buyer. Many builders are brazen enough to print this second plan in their brochures.

Says renowned architect Yatin Pandya, ``If the builders and contractors are greedy, the architects show them the ways. We are supposed to safeguard the interests of the society. But most of us failed. Instead of showing creativity, we became pimps.''

Last year, the Gujarat High Court had expressed its displeasure over the role of architects and engineers. ``They have to act as per the approved plans...They do not have to act merely as per the desire or advice of the builder/owner,'' the court had stated, asking the AMC to identify and blacklist the black sheep.

AUDA and AMC are supposed to inspect the building at various stages of construction and certify that these have been built according to the approved plan. Otherwise, they can freeze construction, ask the builder to demolish the illegal portion and, if he does not, AUDA or AMC can demolish it on their own. But the builders' money ensures that the officials do not inspect or, if they do, do not record what they see.

Once the building is complete, a demolition notice is dutifully served. The builder goes to court, gets a stay and the matter drags on for years. In between, the builder gets electricity, water and sewerage connections and sells off the flats. By the time the case is decided, he has made his packet, the officials and politicians have got their cuts, and the buyers are left to face the consequences. This has become the standard practice.

There are examples when some buildings were constructed without an approved construction plan. Some others were raised on the land the builders did not own. In some cases, the authorities themselves gave such plots to influential people. On the posh Drive-in road, a plot reserved for a utility centre was split and part of it given to IAS and IPS officers for constructing houses. The officers went a step further. They constructed commercial buildings, flats, and many just sold off the plots at a premium. Another plot in a posh locality in the western part of the city, which was reserved for a fire station, was given away to a builder. Now, a residential-cum-commercial complex stands there.

C.G. Road, the city's commercial hub, is a classic example of how the authorities have raped the laws. The builders got plans approved for nursing homes, but went on to construct big showrooms, shopping and office complexes. Even parking spaces in buildings were converted into shops and offices.

The AMC simply looked the other way. Later, it got an architect for redesigning C.G. Road to provide parking spaces. He made such a design that a fire tender cannot approach many buildings, most of which lack inbuilt fire safety features. Now the same architect is on an official committee, constituted following High Court orders, to fix responsibility on erring officials.