After sleeping over it for 24 years, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to implement a rule that may make architects in the city to lose their sleep.
After sleeping over it for 24 years, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to implement a rule that may make architects in the city to lose their sleep. Getting licence from the civic body will now be compulsory for architects in the city.
However, Council of Architecture (COA) executive committee member, Prakash Deshmukh, claimed that architects registered with the council, the national apex body of the profession, do not require such licences.
The development plan (DP) of the city came into effect in 1987 and along with it the development control (DC) rules became effective.
There is a provision in the DC rule 6.4 that the civic body should issue licences to architects, engineers and structural engineers to work in the jurisdiction of PMC.
As per appendix C of the rules, the licence would be provided for one year, to be renewed every year. The licence fee would be Rs250 and it would not be necessary for architects registered with the COA to pay the fee.
Pune municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade told the media that this rule was not implemented since it came into effect in 1987. He has given written instructions to additional municipal commissioner to begin the process of issuing licences to architects from this week itself.
Zagade has also directed the officials to conduct an inquiry into the 24-year delay in implementing the rule.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator, Vikas Mathkari, said the rule was conveniently ignored and demanded action against the officers concerned.
He said the proper implementation of the rule would have helped in punishing architects engaged in illegal constructions and acted as a deterrent against such activities.
The BJP leader said the civic body’s limitations in taking action against architects came to light in the recent controversy over illegal construction of a building.
COA executive committee member, Prakash Deshmukh, told DNA that as per the Architects Act, 1972, all architects have to register with COA to be able to practice. There is no need to get licence in any municipal corporation after getting registered with the apex body. A high court judgment has ratified this rule.
He said there are about 2,400 COA registered architects in Pune.
The city ranks third in the country in terms of the number of architects after Mumbai and Delhi.
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