Few buildings in north Delhi took completion certificates in last three years

A ‘completion certification’ is a mandatory legal document, which attests that a new building has been completed according to safety norms and regulations of the Buildings Act

File photo
File photo

Few building owners in north Delhi obtain completion certificates for their constructions, according to data from the region’s civic body, despite the Capital’s building by-laws mandating such documentation

Data from the North Delhi Municipal Corporation shows that the civic body sanctioned over 14,600 buildings between April 2017 and August 2021, but only 1,054 building owners (less than 8%) took completion certificates.

The north corporation has under its ambit six out of the 12 administrative zones that the city’s three municipal corporations are responsible for. Of these, the Narela and Rohini zones have the fewest owners obtaining completion certificates, and the proportion is relatively higher in the Karol Bagh zone.

A reported submitted by the north Delhi municipal commissioner said that “plans for 14,661 buildings have been sanctioned” and completion certificates for just 1,054 of those have been issued between April 1, 2017 and August 31, 2021

A ‘completion certification’ is a mandatory legal document, which attests that a new building has been completed according to safety norms and regulations of the Buildings Act. This certificate is awarded only if local bodies are satisfied that the building has been constructed according to the approved building plan and unified building bye-laws. The certificate also acts as an assurance for any future prospective buyers that the property is safe to live in

The zone-wise report showed that just 5.7% sanctioned buildings in Keshav Puram zone have obtained completion certificates, while just 2.8% have done so in the Rohini zone. Just 0.4% sanctioned buildings in Narela zone took these certificates in this three-year-period.

Meanwhile, 16.5% of the buildings sanctioned took completion certificates in old Delhi’s City-Sadar Paharganj zone, while this rate was 17.6% for buildings in the Civil Lines zone and 24.35 buildings in the Karol Bagh zone.

A senior municipal official from the building department said that the completion certificates are mandated under the Unified Building Bye-Laws 2016, which also allows action against owners for non-compliance.

“Ideally, a building should not be occupied before the completion certificate is issued, and the structure should not be allowed water and electricity connections. But very few people comply with norms. At least newly built structures should be covered by completion certificate. It ensures safety of the occupants, while ensuring that construction has not been carried out beyond the permissible sanctioned plan or in violation of other structural safety norms. There is a provision of Rs10 per day fine for each day of occupancy, but there is a lot of resistance in enforcing it,” the official said requesting anonymity

As per the UBBL-2016, completion certificates for residential properties up to 105 sqm covered area can be issued by the architect itself, while those for residential properties between a covered area of 105 and 500sqm are issued online by the zonal building departments concerned, on the basis of documents submitted by the approved architects, without any site inspection.

“For all bigger residential properties and non-residential or commercial properties, the certificate is issued after a site examination,” the official said.

Interestingly, the report states that the civic body has also issued completion certificate in the case of eight properties in Rohini zone where the property had been booked for illegal construction

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/few-buildings-in-north-delhi-took-completion-certificates-in-last-three-years-101635099128504.html