Property development projects – grave danger to city dwellers
The rapid growth of multi story apartments and high rise offices around the city in a haphazard and unplanned manner, has caused untold hardships to countless citizens in the recent past. You only have to drive down a road and witness the strange sight of a multi-storey construction rising menacingly over the adjoining one storey residence, most often constructed without leaving any space between the two boundary walls.
There have been two incidents in the recent past, the collapse of buildings in Wellawatta and Grandpass which have resulted in the death of eight people which reflects the sad state of affairs at the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) and the UDA. The negligence displayed by these authorities with regard to certificates of conformity and lack of proper monitoring has lead to the death of eight people.
I have personally experienced this gross negligence, or could it be willful laxity due to large sums of money exchanging hands by both the CMC/UDA. Our home is located down a road where majority of the buildings are residential houses in the heart of Colombo. However on the sale of the neighbouring residence to a large company; the nightmare started.
The deep excavation process during the “wall to wall” construction of a multi-storeyed apartment without the required metal shoring lead caused a soil shift lead to large cracks appearing in several parts of the house. In addition the terrazzo tiles on the floor developed massive cracks. Several calls to the police and complaints to the municipal authorities proved fruitless. Several visits to the municipality and meetings with the Director City Planning also proved fruitless.
In desperation a meeting with the UDA Chairman and UDA officials was arranged. The Chairman requested the attending officer to call for the file from the municipality and arrange an inspection, whether the new construction was in conformance with the plan. Several weeks of calling revealed that the requested file had not been received. It was evident that orders were deliberately disobeyed despite the UDA being vested with powers over the CMC.
It was shocking to witness the number of residents who were present at the UDA premises to complain at the destruction being done to their homes. All had the same story to tell. Many complaints had been made but no results were seen. One lady bemoaned that her house had been newly constructed and was now damaged beyond repair. Further the developers had not even paid insurance. It was sad to see that several retired and aged folk also being forced to undergo the hassle of visiting the UDA premises to make a complaint.
When an ancestral home, lovingly built with several years of hardship and sacrifice is damaged by callous property developers, without the slightest regard or even compensation; the situation has sunk to a new low. If residents who have lived for years in their home are now faced with damaged and cracked home due to the willful negligence of authorities responsible, the citizenry is now faced with a frightening prospect.
It is the primary responsibility of the municipality and Government to protect city dwellers from the scourge of unscrupulous property developers who will stop at nothing to earn extra profits. Deep excavations in and around residential areas have further weakened the foundations of homes in the area.
Currently elected Mayor Ms. Rosy Senanayake, please take note of this alarming new trend and also take strong measures to prevent wrongful plan approvals by corrupt authorities at the CMC.
It is also the responsibility of engineering institutions in the country to implement safety regulations so that constructions will not pose a risk to houses in the vicinity. In developed countries due to zoning restrictions, high rise buildings cannot be constructed next to residential homes. Further there are rigorous safety regulations which cannot be breached.
It is high time that those in authority take action to protect homes and lives of innocent citizens from this menace.
P. Rubini
Colombo