Gurugram: Building rules flouted, DTCP goes to cops against owner

GURUGRAM: In a first, the department of town and country planning (DTCP) has filed a police complaint and recommended an FIR against the owner, architect and structural engineer of a building in DLF-2 for violating norms.

In September 2019, the parapet wall on the building’s terrace fell on the adjacent house, due to which the neighbour sustained injuries. Soon thereafter, he approached the Punjab and Haryana high court. In March this year, the HC directed the DTCP to examine the matter.

As per the complaint filed by the department, the parapet wall on the building’s terrace, which was supposed to have a thickness of 9 inches, was only four-inch thick and failed structurally.

During the course of its investigation, the DTCP found that the owner, Parveen Gupta, had procured approval of the building plan through the self-certification scheme. Under this, the owner, along with the architect and the structural engineer, is responsible for carrying out and supervising construction as per norms, and also for ensuring safety.

District town planner RS Batth said Gupta, architect Avinash Chandra Vaidya and structural consultant Gurdat Singh Malik not only violated the terms and conditions of the sanctioned layout plan, but also failed to comply with the provisions of the Haryana Building Code, 2017, the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, and the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963.

“This is a flagrant violation of the norms. The department has requested the DLF-2 police to register an FIR against the trio and any other person whose name is associated with the offence during the course of investigation,” said Batth.

In an affidavit, all three people said they would abide by the provisions of the Haryana Building Code, 2017. “The owner has submitted an agreement wherein Vaidya was hired to get the architectural drawing approved while Malik gave an undertaking regarding the specifications of the construction and the structural stability,” said an official.