-Houses required to get checked by licensed engineer

 Kathmandu Metropolitan has identified strict enforcement of third party verification for building construction in the metropolis as an important measure for ensuring earthquake-resistant buildings but its decision to hike building permit fees has drawn public flak.

Earlier in the week, the 26th meeting of Metropolis Council had decided to make third party verification of building construction effective to check compliance with government-prescribed building codes. The council also decided to provide discounts on building permit fees for houses destroyed by the Great Earthquake but after increasing the fee first.

The council meets biannually to review Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s performance, approve its annual budget and make major policy decisions. Third party verification is not a new policy but was not implemented due to lack of verifiers. Homeowners were required to get their houses checked by a licensed engineer to ensure they are built according to the approved design before KMC itself sends its technicians to give final approval.

KMC receives 70 to 80 applications for building permits each day but had only five verifiers in its roster resulting in large queues, engineer Gambhir Lal Shrestha of Urban Development Department at KMC said. He added that third party verification was not feasible as few people joined as verifiers. Currently, the number has increased to 11 and KMC attaching high importance to the matter is expected to land more engineers.

While presenting KMC’s programmes after the council meeting, its Chief and Executive Officer Rudra Singh Tamang also said that homeowners who have already received permits to increase floors in their houses will only be allowed to do so after conducting technical analysis of existing condition of the building.

Buildings which complied with building codes and bylaws have proved to be earthquake-resistant, engineer Shrestha said. So rather than amending the laws, he suggested strict enforcement of the existing laws. The only new provision required would be to include soil testing, he added.

While third party verification has been welcomed by citizens, increase in building permit fees has been criticised. Fees for houses with built-up area up to 3,000 sq ft have increased from Rs 10 per sq ft to Rs 25 while for larger houses the fee has increased from Rs 15 to Rs 35. However, metropolitan authorities have decided to provide 75 percent discount on building permit fees for houses fully destroyed by the Great Earthquake and 25 percent to partially damaged buildings.

“There is no point in providing discount by redoubling fees,” Prakash Koirala of Chabahil said. His house at Chabahil developed cavities in outer walls due to the earthquake and said it had to be demolished and reconstructed from scratch.

An informed source at KMC said that tax on building permits was increased to compensate revenue leakage from other income sources of the metropolis.

KMC has also provisioned on providing 50 percent discount on municipal business tax to businesses which operated in houses that have been completely destroyed by the Great Earthquake. However, KMC CEO Tamang said no subsidy will be provided to houses which were built without acquiring municipal approval and which were threatening the structure of heritage buildings.

The new policies are expected to come into effect by the end of the coming week.

source:Gaurav Thapa,  the kathmandu post,19 july 2015