Do the municipal corporations have a strategy for development of the city?
21 Jul, 2014An application was filed with the Thiruvananthapuram city corporation under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking information about:
(i) The number of permits for high-rise buildings (between 10-16 metres) issued by the corporation from 2012 to 2014,
(ii) The number of residential permits issued for high-rises,
(iii) The number of industrial permits issued during the same period and
(iv) The number of buildings with maximum permissible height that were issued permits during 2012, 2013 and 2014.
The Thiruvananthapuram city corporation replied that it does not keep separate data for high- rise buildings and the data for all buildings is kept together with no distinction. The state government has issued an amendment that a high-rise building shall be provided open space of 5 metres on the front and any one of the sides. Many fresh applications are being filed by the builders who surrendered the old building permit and filing a new application for the same after the amendment came into effect from July 2013. Irregularities related to grant of permission for buildings have been alleged very often and there is a need for proper monitoring and maintenance of data regarding building permits. Could a pan India system be evolved for keeping a tab over the data building permits?