Will tweak policy for granting OCs to buildings: Haryana deputy CM

GURUGRAM: The Haryana government is considering making changes to the policy for
granting occupation certificates (OC) to highrise projects, deputy chief minister Dushyant
Chautala said against the backdrop of the vertical collapse of living rooms in Chintels
Paradiso on February 10.
Currently, the department of town and country planning (DTCP) issues an OC to a developer
after checking if the building has been constructed in keeping with the approved layout plan and
the Haryana Building Code. There is no provision to check the quality of construction at the time
of granting the OC.
Chautala, who was in Manesar to inaugurate a hospital on Sunday, said the government would
also take action against DTCP officials if they were found guilty of bypassing inspections.
Paradiso residents have alleged they have been raising complaints with the DTCP since 2018
about poor construction quality in their society. A structural audit of all nine towers of Paradiso
was conducted last year and the DTCP team had pointed out that the “only” problem was with
the ceiling of the balconies. The developer had then fixed cardboards under the ceiling of most
balconies to keep residents from the way of falling plasters

Told about alleged inaction by government departments, Chautala said three different agencies
were conducting probes into the collapse. “An inquiry is in progress. Once we get the details
and the report is out, action will be taken against officials found responsible,” the deputy CM
said.
Chautala said changes would be announced soon to make policies regarding buildings more
stringent. “Recently, people from Faridabad had approached us with concerns over fire safety in
buildings that had more than seven floors. So, we made changes to norms and the local
development authority put a system in place for fire safety of highrises,” the JJP leader said.
“The government will also tweak OC norms to prevent such accidents in the future,” he added,
without specifying what the changes were likely to be.
A senior DTCP official agreed there were no provisions to check the construction quality of
buildings. At the time of applying for an OC, the developer submits specific details about the
project along with a certificate from a structural engineer. While DTCP is supposed to give the
OC, HSVP hands out the nod for drainage and other such systems. A certificate is also issued
by the fire department on fire safety norms in the buildings.
“After receiving an application, we inspect projects and mainly check for violations in the building
plan,” the official said.