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Civic body to survey old houses, buildings in Surat

Houses, buildings and residential edifices in the city are under SMC radar, to check out whether they are prone to any risk during monsoon.

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Houses, buildings and residential edifices in the city are under SMC radar, to check out whether they are prone to any risk during monsoon. The civic body will conduct survey in all seven zones and will either issue notice to repair them or dismantle them, if they are found risk prone.

The civic staff will monitor the strength of the edifices and its capacity to withstand the rainy season. If the structure is found perfect than authorities will issue a certificate, specifying the time of repairs or renovation needed for keeping it intact. Otherwise, the authorities will either issue notice to repair it with immediate effect or dismantle it to prevent any unwanted situation.

Rajesh Pandya, town development officer, said that, last year around 200-250 old structures, which had good chance of being affected in the monsoons, were identified in the city. Majority of old structures are located at Central zone, Adajan and semi-urban areas.

“Majority of residents in these types of buildings or houses are tenants. Neither the tenants nor the landlords are concerned about the building. Due to lack of maintenance, there is every possibility of them falling down if heavy rains lash the city. Such survey helps in keeping a check on old buildings. We can pressurise the residents to repair and if the situation prevails we ask them to dismantle also. If SMC dismantles any structure, the tenant is charged for it,” Pandya added.

Though, some feel that entire exercise makes little impact. “Owners or tenants undertake minor repair works only under pressure from the SMC. Moreover, there is no continuous monitoring upon these structures for various reasons and are checked only once in a year. Tenants change the house every 12 months so they do not bother to invest,” said a top civic official requesting anonymity.

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