SHILLONG, Nov 30: Urban Affairs Minister, Sniawbhalang Dhar on Tuesday said he will convene a meeting with the KHADC next week to deliberate on the shortcomings pointed out by the Council in the Meghalaya Building Bye-Laws, 2021.
“I am confident that we will able to resolve the matter once we sit together to discuss the bye-laws. I fully understand the concern raised by the KHADC,” Dhar stated.
KHADC Executive Member in charge of building bye-laws, Paul Lyngdoh had earlier stated that in the building bye-laws notified by the Urban Affairs department, the name of Autonomous District Council as an authority features only in the “definition” part of the Gazette.
“In other pages there is no mention of the district council or its jurisdiction even though we had decided that we can use the same bye-laws for the entire state. We had also agreed upon a separate bye-law as per the suitability of the villages or towns. But nothing has been done,” Lyngdoh had stated.
Lyngdoh had also said that another proviso in the Meghalaya Building Bye-Laws, 2021 which has caught the KHADC’s eye is that in any area which is above 50,000 sq ft, permission for such will have to be given by the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) even if such area falls under the ADCs.
Lyngdoh also said that building plans/building permission will have to be endorsed by an engineer and architect with PhD qualification along with ten years of experience.
“We will not find people with such qualifications in Meghalaya. This is all impractical and therefore the Executive Committee has decided to reject the Meghalaya Building Bye-Laws, 2021,” he had added.
