KOCHI: The modifications carried out to houses without obtaining necessary sanction from corporation will henceforth prove costly to the house owners, after the civic body decided to crack down on illegal changes to the original building plan. Those found guilty of flouting the rule will face a hefty fine.
The move by the civic body comes in the wake of the unfortunate mishap that took place at Kaloor on Wednesday (October 6), when the parapet of a house came down killing a daily wage worker and injuring two others.
“There is a general tendency to carry out reconstructions that are not there in the original building plan. Most of them are unscientific constructions. Such a construction led to the mishap at Kaloor,” said Mayor M Anilkumar.
He said that the corporation secretary and other officers were instructed to conduct inspections and prepare a list of houses where there is a violation of the rule. “The civic body will initiate action based on the report. A separate guideline will be laid down to deal with such incidents. The public should consider the safety angle while undertaking reconstruction,” said Anilkumar.
However, corporation has turned a blind eye to old commercial buildings numbering around 130, which pose a threat to public safety since most of them are partially damaged or on the verge of collapse. Though the corporation carried out the survey after a five-decade old commercial building adjacent to a hotel near North railway station tilted and its walls developed cracks, no steps have been taken to remove such structures. “We will soon take steps to demolish buildings which pose a threat to the public,” said the mayor.