NEW DELHI: Nearly a year after the senior executives of the Central Public Work Department (CPWD) were asked to initiate action for implementation of a road map to make state-owned buildings seismically compliant and submit a status report, no such details have been provided yet, despite repeated reminders.
Questions on the structural safety of old government buildings and the need for their seismic assessment have also been raised by parliamentarians in the House, said officials. However, information on the same has not been submitted by officials concerned.
In view of the prolonged delay, the office of the Chief Engineer (Designs and Disaster Management), CPWD, has now issued a fresh reminder to all Special Director Generals (SDGs) and Additional Director Generals (ADGs), urging them to take “necessary action” and furnish requisite information.
“A road map for implementation of an action plan for making buildings seismically compliant was prepared, and all SDGs and ADGs of CPWD were requested to take action as per the cited subject. However, no Action Taken Report (ATR) has been received…therefore, All SDGs and ADGs are again requested to take note of this matter and ensure compliance with respect to the proposed road map for implementation of the action plan. Kindly accord priority to the matter,” read an official note dated August 8, accessed by this newspaper.
The officials have been asked to tender ATR by August 24.
In September, the CPWD decided to undertake structural safety audits of government buildings and initiate their retrofitting or re-strengthening.
Plans made in September
In September, the CPWD decided to undertake structural safety audits of government buildings and initiate their retrofitting. As per the plan, the priority was to be accorded to structures falling high-risk matrix. The audit was to be completed in a year, and the retrofitting, two years thereafter.