BRS comes as boon for unauthorised constructions in Nellore districts

Nellore: Unauthorised apartments and layouts have been mushrooming in Tada and neighbouring Varadayapalem and Satyavedu mandals apart from nearby Sullurpeta municipality.

Locals in Tada have been attributing this to the unprecedented demand for houses following the rapid pace of industrial development in Nellore and Chittoor districts.

There are myriad violations in the construction of apartments because of political patronage. Enforcement authorities are turning a blind eye to the serious irregularities for ‘obvious’ reasons, a local official alleged.

He said that firms involved in the construction of apartments on a regular basis are approaching NUDA for permission but most of the builders obtain panchayat permission taking advantage of a condition that local body permission is adequate for buildings below 10 metres in height (G+1) and can construct up to four floors.

According to the official, some of the builders are managing to secure panchayat permission with an old date but a thorough investigation into all the new apartment buildings and those under construction would expose massive violations of building plans.

“They construct their own houses as per their whims and fancies and wait for the building regularisation scheme to get the official tag. In the case of apartments, the victims are the individual buyers,” he said.

He added that the government's decision to go for BRS at regular intervals is encouraging builders to go about such unauthorised constructions and deviations.

Incidentally, Tada and Sullurpeta mandals are under the purview of Nellore Urban Development Authority. In addition to this, seven villages in Satyavedu mandal and four in Varadayapalem mandal, which are part of Chittoor district, also fall under NUDA.

In Sullurpeta, officials identified 25 unauthorised apartment buildings and notices were served on seven of them, a civic body official.

On why they were not able to prevent such violations in the first place, he said they don’t have manpower to keep a tab on such issues as their men staff is into other priorities like sanitation, vaccination, and supply of drinking water.

A senior official alleged that builders are starting foundation work even before applying for permission while stressing the need to reverse the practice.

He said people will follow all rules and leave setbacks once urban development authorities start taking action against licensed structural engineers, who are giving the plan.

According to the official, road width abutting the apartment shall be maintained as per the master plan approved by the competent authority. Structural engineers should certify that all necessary measures have been taken in designs to protect the safety of adjacent buildings.

When contacted, NUDA chairman M. Dwarakanath said he will conduct a meeting with all stakeholders to prevent unauthorised layouts and construction of apartments. He said some violations have already been brought to his notice.