Aftermath of Chennai building collapse
BANGALORE: In the backdrop of buildings collapsing in Chennai and Mumbai recently leading to loss of life, Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said the Centre was preparing stringent measures to curb building violations.
“Many lives are being lost due to building collapse across the country. The Centre cannot be a mute spectator. The department is coming out with 25-point agenda to check illegal structures and building violations,” Naidu told reporters.
The minister, who was in the city, said a 25-point agenda is prepared and would be circulated to all the state governments to implement along side the suitable local guidelines. “The planning of municipal administration lies with the urban local body. The urban local body, state government and Centre should work in uniform to bring about best practises in the building structure” he said.
Spelling the role of the Centre, Naidu said the Union government gives broad guidelines to evolve consensus. “The 25-point agenda has already been discussed recently in the urban development and housing ministers of the state governments. All the states have agreed for strict measures to check building violations,” he said.
The Centre wants to fix accountability at the local level itself, where Naidu feels that illegal structures will not take shape without the knowledge of local engineers and town planners. “Local building inspectors, area supervisors and town planners should be made accountable for the building violations in their jurisdiction,” the minister said.
Don’t politicize Leader of Opposition issue:
Naidu, who also holds parliamentary affairs portfolio, hit out at Congress and asked them not to politicize the issue of leader of opposition status in Lok Sabha.
Maintaining that there was no leader of opposition during Jawaharlal Nehru’s period and also during Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi’s tenures, Naidu said that till day before yesterday, Congress had not asked for the recognition from the Speaker but were going around criticising the government.
A decision on the leader of opposition will be taken by the Speaker soon, he said. “There are precedents, conventions and rules and regulations through which Speaker decides such things.”
When asked whether the government will be offering the Deputy Speaker’s post to AIADMK, Naidu said,‘‘We are still discussing on the deputy Speaker’s post. We are thinking of giving Deputy Speaker’s position to the opposition party,’’ he said. (PTI)