Who should be responsible to ensure safety norms during the construction of houses?
Who should be responsible to ensure safety norms during the construction of houses?
Homes offer people protection. Who should be responsible to ensure that the required safety norms exist and are followed during the construction of houses? - The government, the builder or the buyer?
Food, clothing and a decent home are the three important things that are promised by all political parties during election times for a long time. In a huge country like India, it is not possible for the government alone to build homes for the people. Hence the real estate market for constructing homes is open to private builders along with government entities like MHADA.The private builders have to submit their building proposals, get it sanctioned by the local bodies and complete the construction as per the safety and technical norms laid out by the government.
As homes offer protection and security to people, the role of the builder and government should be complementing each other in the greater interest of the people at large. Hence it is absolutely necessary that the government makes proper safety norms and builder ensures that all norms are totally complied before give possession of homes to the end buyer.
In recent times, there have been a number of incidents where buildings have collapsed due to construction carried out without approvals and safety norms not followed by builders.
This invariably has led to death of innocent lives and also caused monetary losses to their family. When the press reports these incidents, there is the usual slugfest which happens between the builders, government departments and the poor buyer is left to gather his belongings and look for a new shelter.
A few cases are filed and suspensions ordered against some junior officers but accountability is never completely fixed. The suspended officers are reinstated after the controversy dies a natural death.
A lot of times some experts try to put the blame on buyers for not conducting proper inquiries of a housing project, builder’s profile etc before investing their hard earned money with the builders. Though some buyers do try to do some due diligence, it may not be possible for them to get complete details of a project as builders change plans, give false print ads to lure buyers.
The government has various legal, technical and inspection teams to study proposals and sanction building plans submitted by builders. Further, the government collects stamp duty, VAT, service tax, registration tax, development tax from home buyers which has to be used for protecting buyer’s interests and providing efficient service. However it is observed that this does not happen and corrupt officials are many times hand in glove with greedy builders to make money at the cost of the tax paying citizens. I.e. buyers.
The government has the powers to put an end to these wrong practices and punish builders who violate building norms, ignore safety norms and cheat buyers.
In view of the above, it is strongly felt that the government authorities and the builder lobby should be held responsible as well as accountable to maintain required safety norms while building homes for the general public.
Discussion
- RE: Who should be responsible to ensure safety norms during the construction of houses? -Deepa Kaushik (04/12/14)
- Safety is the key factor which along with love and affection, converts a house into a home, a happy living. To have a relaxed phase of life, one definitely need to have a secure and safe shelter. With increasing illegal constructions and negligence of the officials who pass any land for the residential use, the safety has turned to a major concern in today’s world.
The security and the safety norms can be checked by the government officials who pass the land as a residential area, next the builder, who makes out the building plan, and last but not the least being the buyer, who need to spend his precious moments of his life on the constructed house.
Coming to the government official, they play a big role, as they have to inspect the land thoroughly whether the soil there could be durable enough to withstand a residential colony /house. Even after the builder proposes the project for the construction, it is the official in-charge who needs to check for the plan structure with respect to the land and soil there. As the river bed can never be a favourable place for building an apartment; the soil being soft, is much prone to natural calamities.
Next coming on to the builder. He plays the most important role is ensuring safety during the construction of the house. He is the one who makes the building plan, chooses the materials to be used for the construction, brings about a layout for the construction of the building in a particular area. The quality of the material used has a huge impact on the strength and safety of the house.
Lastly coming on to the buyer. He could hardly be hold responsible for the safety measures. A common man hardly knows the intricacies of the well constructed building and the quality of the materials. All he can do is believe on what the builder conveys him and check for the paper works to be complete.
So to summarize, we can just hold the builder as the main responsible hand for ensuring the safety during the construction of the house.
- Who should be responsible to ensure safety norms during the construction of houses? -Janhvi Johorey (04/04/14)
Who should be responsible to ensure that the required safety norms exist and are followed during the construction of houses?
Introduction
A home offers comfort, privacy and protection. It prevents people from being insecure. But, homes must be constructed as per the safety norms. The responsibility of ensuring that the required safety norms which exist are accurately followed during the construction of the houses rests solely on the builder. The government can only prescribe the norms. It cannot be charged with the responsibility of ensuring that safety norms are followed. Apart from a few routine inspections, governments cannot be held accountable for making sure that safety norms are followed. Similarly, while consumers or buyers should certainly follow precautions when they purchase homes, there is no way that they can ensure safety norms are followed.
Viewpoint
Required safety norms must be followed so that there are no untoward accidents during a later point in time. The only person who can ensure this is the builder. He has access to the building plans and he is in-charge of summoning the work crew and supervising the construction of the home. At best, governments can only supervise the construction of the home through periodic visits. It is the builder who is touch with the supervisor and he or she oversees the entire construction process.
Another important part of being a builder is to provide quality homes for people. The aim should be to provide well constructed homes that can withstand the rigours of time. It is the duty of the builder to provide safe, decent homes to the buyers. He or she is under obligation to provide the best services and products to all the customers. The government can only stipulate what the safe building norms are. They can also look into violations of the building codes. But it is the responsibility of the builder to ensure that the safety norms and guidelines are met.
Safety norms are meant to ensure that people are not endangered in any way. One of the most important features of a house is its safety. It should be secure enough to protect its occupants from damage or accident. The basic structure of the house needs to be sturdy and strong to ensure that there are no sudden accidents. Safety norms can only be met if the builder is alert and aware at all stages of the construction process. The buyer only sees the finished product. He or she does not supervise the construction process in its entirety.
Complete supervision is the onus of the builder only.
The government or the buyer is not in-charge of the construction process. It is the builder whose job is to supervise the construction of the house and take care of the building process. It is ultimately the goal of the builder to provide safe homes that are also comfortable.
Conclusion
The builder is responsible for all aspects of the construction process. He or she is a sole supervisor and manager during the construction phase. The builder is being paid for his or her job. His responsibility and duty is to ensure that the existing building norms are followed completely during the construction of the new home. The government or the buyer should not be held responsible for the building construction. The buyer is paying the builder to oversee all aspects of the construction process. It is the builder’s job to see that safety codes are followed during the construction of the home.
