"At present the building industry is in a complete mess," says architect Deepak Gahlowt, editor of the Delhi-based Construction Journal of India, expressing anguish at the national scene. Yogesh Vani, a structural engineer from Ahmedabad, reveals: "Earthquake-resistant features for large projects require an extremely complex design, which is beyond the ken of an average structural designer. They also push up costs."
The result is a downslide in quality. Earlier, engineers in urban Gujarat would insist on using about three kilogrammes (kg) of steel per square feet of the building but to cut costs in the face of stiff competition, they have reduced this to one kg. The burgeoning middle-class population of the state is hard-pressed to bear an added expenditure of 10-25 per cent - the amount spent on making the building earthquake-resistant. In fact the cost factor has prevented the base isolator technology that is used in Japan and the US (see box: Standing tall), from becoming popular in India.
Most architects question the competence of authorities who, they contend, have no idea what earthquake-resistant features are. The authorities, architects, builders and engineers alike need to be trained in these techniques, avers R N Iyengar, a professor in the department of civil engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the former director of Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee.
The local municipalities are the nodal bodies for sanctioning building projects and by-laws are enforced individually by states. So, regulations vary from place to place. However, in some regions the administration appears to have gone overboard. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, the structural safety certificate needs to be signed by an engineer holding a master's degree. This move has evoked widespread protests from engineers with a bachelor's degree, says Manjit Agnihotri, former professor, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
The Maharashtra government is ushering in a new set of by-laws in Mumbai wherein all the 50,000 co-operative housing societies will have to compulsorily insure their buildings against fire and earthquakes.
On July 12, 2001, the Delhi government stated that a modern earthquake monitoring system would be installed in the capital to detect even the slightest of tremors preceding a major quake. According to the Department of Science and Technology, buildings without safety measures and poorly built
structures in the capital could suffer heavy damage in the event of a major earthquake.
For all these measures, experts are unanimous that the resolve to implement policies is lacking. According to T K Datta, an earthquake specialist in the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 75 per cent of the construction in Delhi is unauthorised. Though the design technology has had to be upgraded ever since earthquake loads (zones) were included in the NBC, yet "the authorities have lacked the will to enforce the by-laws stipulating seismic design", says Vani, and adds: "Where violation of other by-laws was rampant, this irregularity did not attract much attention." The states have merely been asked to incorporate earthquake-resistant features in their by-laws which, Datta feels, is not enough.
Guidelines to make a building earthquake-resistant include (see box: Fortified structures) assessment of the holding capacity of soil, joining steel bars of columns and beams to complete the overlapping length of the welding, the use of steel centering in casting the slab, the construction of a sheer wall and reinforced concrete cement beams for water tank and the use of standardised construction material.
The Union urban development ministry is planning to enact legislation for professional engineers to ensure accountability and proper professional conduct. Under the proposed law, only duly registered and licensed engineers would be able to prepare and submit structural drawings and plans to the competent authorities. The authority to certify safe and proper construction in accordance with the prescribed norms will be vested in them.
Then there is the question of who will check the eligibility of engineers. In the case of architects, there is a council that discharges this duty. But there is ambiguity regarding the qualification of an engineer, and whether it would vary with the complexity of the structure, points out Gahlowt.
The process of putting in place standards is a must for quality construction. But if the government appropriates all the powers to define as well as enforce them, there is a strong likelihood of the nexus between politicians, officials and construction industry emerging again. So where does the solution lie?
Putting in place safeguards such as stringent regulations is just the beginning of a process that would lead to the creation of an earthquake-resistant community. In this regard, Haresh C Shah, chairperson of the board, World Seismic Safety Initiative, says: "An earthquake-resistant community demands a shared responsibility between all the stakeholders - citizens, civic authorities, professionals and builders."