Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) executive member, Paul Lyngdoh, said today that there is an urgent need to implement the council’s building by-laws because of the rampant and haphazard explosion in houses and other buildings that have encroached on public spaces and hindered the right of passage.
“An authority to exercise and regulate these activities has become mandatory and this is the reason that, during the meeting with the Urban Affairs Department, we have asked to do away with the notification issued on February 1, 2019 that stated that building permission can be applied either from the government or district council, which is bad. We have ascertained in the by-laws passed by the state cabinet recently that the district councils are one of the authorities that can issue building permission, excluding in the master plan areas falling under the Greater Shillong planning area, municipal areas, and scheme areas,” Lyngdoh told reporters.
Though the by-laws are applicable across Meghalaya, the authority to implement them has now been divided between the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and the district councils, he added.
The Khasi Hills Building and Structure Regulatory Authority (KHBSRA), which was created by the KHADC in October 2020 to be responsible for the implementation of the council’s by-laws and issuance of permission, will now review its manpower requirement.
“There are challenges and we need to strengthen the engineering wing, architects and have experts to look at the safety aspects because the lifeline buildings, including hotels, homestays, hospitals, etc are now spread beyond the city and outskirts and, before we give the approval, we need an authority that comprises technocrats and experts. We have also calculated the requirements at the district level, including in Nongpoh, Nongstoiñ and Mawkyrwat and training to staff,” he said.
Informing that the KHBSRA will meet on Wednesday, Lyngdoh said that the fees under the KHADC by-laws will be on the low side, while no building permits will be required for certain structures, such as labour storage, dwelling houses with light roofing and animal shelters.
