UDA probes illegal sites in Mt. Lavinia
In new revelations, the Urban Development Authority (UDA) is digging into how some illegal constructions were authorised by the municipality in the area in the past.
They are checking on the Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipality (DMMC) where they inspected sites mid this month and saw that developers had submitted building permits which weren’t in line with the UDA regulations.
“When we inspected these sites, some had permits, but according to the rules, they couldn’t have got them authorised. So now we’re scrutinising each file where approval to build was obtained,” a senior UDA official told the Business Times.
This came after the Business Times investigated the plight of the residents in this area during the past three months owing to illegal constructions.
Out of the 11 sites that were inspected this month, building permits for six had expired, the official said. Starting from the entrance to Mount Lavinia Hotel these UDA officials visiting Lilian Avenue, Mount Avenue, Simon Abeywickrama Avenue, Cross Road, De Saram Road, off De Saram Road, Hotel Road, De Alwis Avenue, Samudra Mawatha and Beach Road. They noticed that none of the developers had displayed building plans and building permits at the building sites as required by the law. An apartment complex at Alwis Place Mt. Lavinia has a billboard stating that they are offering 15 floors to customers. However, according to road width they can only go for eight floors according to 2008-2010 UDA Building Regulations for the council area, but they had a permit.
These building regulations for the DMMC area only allow for a maximum of five floors to be built according to the relevant road width on that particular road, the official said.
Residents say that the critical load on existing infrastructure is beyond comprehension with severe traffic congestion during school opening and closing times in the seaside area as there are three major schools in the area (St. Thomas College, Girls High School and Buddhist Ladies School).