: In the wake of a massive earthquake in Nepal that left behind a trail of destruction, experts in Gurgaon are of the view that mandatory audit of buildings should be conducted and existing structures should be upgraded with retro-fittings.
Speaking to The Hindu , head of Disaster Management, Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Abhay Shrivastava said that as per the usual practice, the officials concerned only ensured adherence to standard specifications and the occupation certificates were granted without any effort to ensure adherence to guidelines of National Building Code of India.
Soil testing
“Ideally, the soil should be tested and the design should be approved as per the nature of the soil. The structural engineer should supervise the construction and the quality of the building material be ensured,” said Mr Srivastava.
He, however, lamented that the norms were seldom followed and a large number of buildings in Gurgaon were not earthquake-resistant. “Since demolishing these buildings could not be a solution, the government should carry out a mandatory audit of these buildings and update them with retro-fittings.”
The entire region of Gurgaon falls in high risk seismic zone IV making it highly vulnerable to earthquakes.
The major tectonics features affecting Gurgaon are the Sohna Fault, Junction of Aravali and Alluvium near Delhi, Moradabad Fault, Delhi-Moradabad Fault and Delhi-Haridwar Fault.
Ironically, it is Gurgaon and neighbouring areas of Manesar and Sohna, which have seen a large number of high-rises coming up in the last one decade.
According to an estimate, Gurgaon alone has more than 1,000 high-rises.
Although no major earthquake has occurred in Gurgaon in recent years, yet tremors have been felt whenever there is an earthquake in the Himalayan foothills.
The most important earthquake which affected Gurgaon was on August 27, 1960 with the 6.0 magnitude. The epicentre of this earthquake was between Delhi cantonment and Gurgaon.
“Gurgaon was just a village then, still two persons were killed and 200 houses were demolished. Over the years, Gurgaon has developed as the commercial capital of Haryana contributing almost 40 per cent revenue. An earthquake now could cause havoc to the city. In the event of a earthquake, the priority should be to ensure safety of critical services such as electricity, water supply and communication,” said Mr. Srivastava.
Meanwhile, the Harayana government has instructed all chief engineers and planners to ensure that all building norms were followed.
