NOIDA: The Noida Authority has formed a three-member committee of officials in the rank of DGM to investigate requests for structural audits of old apartments.
The committee will step in after the builder or Apartment Owners Association (AOA) submit a request to get the flats audited. After the panel feels the need for a safety audit, the AOA or promoter can get it done by one of the seven institutions empanelled by the Noida Authority against a fee.
According to a new audit policy that came into effect from April 1 last year, towers in societies can be granted occupation certificates only if they pass a safety test conducted by the empanelled institutions.
But for societies that already have OCs, builders or AOAs can get an audit done if at least 25% residents ask for it. But now, after these societies approach the Authority with a request for an audit, the committee will conduct a study first to ascertain if another examination of the structure concerned is needed at all.
Officials said they had received eight such requests for safety audits. On the other hand, the Authority has granted OCs for towers in four projects, including Park Laureate, County 107, and a few towers of Jaypee Wishtown, based on the new structural policy.
The inspection committee would have senior officials from the water, health and civil wings of the Authority. The panel’s report will be crucial to get an audit done.
According to the new policy, the developer is responsible for structural audits of buildings for the first five years after an OC is issued and fixing any faults that are detected during this period. After five years, the responsibility is handed over to the AOA.
The seven institutes empanelled by the Authority are IIT Kanpur, Aligarh Muslim University, BITS Pilani, Delhi Technical University, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology in Allahabad, Malaviya National Institute of Technology in Jaipur, and the Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee.
