Chennai: Fire accidents that gutted private properties in Vadapalani and T Nagar have set off the Chennai corporation on a wild goose chase, as it has started serving notices on property owners haphazardly.
According to Ripon Building sources, the Chennai corporation which banks on the old database of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has started serving notices to buildings that are more than 20 years old, triggering panic among residents of north and central Chennai. The corporation has also asked owners of multi-storeyed structures to produce no-objection certificates from the district fire safety officer.
“My father constructed this house in 1996 and it is more than 20 years old. But much to our surprise, corporation officials attached to the Tondiarpet zone have served a showcause notice, asking why the building should not be locked and sealed as it does not have fire safety compliance,” said M. Manoj, a resident of ward 60. My house is just three-storeyed with rooms in the terrace, but none of my neighbours residing in skyrise buildings has received such a notice asking for fire safety compliance NOC report, he rued.
“I bought a used flat in 2007 and it was constructed in 1999. But only last month did I know that there are building violations in my flat. I don’t know the whereabouts about the builder and the promoters but am now suffering,” said a flat owner.
When contacted, a senior corporation official admitted that the database obtained from the CMDA was old and needs revision. Only in case of commercial buildings with violations are structures demolished. Usually, residential flats are not demolished but regularised after collection of fines. The matter is a subject of state policy and the corporation has only a minimal role to play, the official explained.
