‘Building bye laws covers plan areas’

SHILLONG, AUG 5: Meghalaya urban affairs department reiterated on Wednesday that the building byelaws of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) applies and cover all the master plan areas to ensure safety and security of the citizens of the state and it will continue to be implemented as per the act.

“The MUDA building byelaws is applicable to all the master plan areas of the state,” Urban Affairs department additional chief secretary Prashant Naik told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.

Stating that the building bye laws are not confine to only Shillong, Naik informed that the building byelaws are also being enforced in Tura, Jowai and wherever there is master plan scheme areas like Byrnihat and those areas which have been identified where building activities have and is taking place and are prone to disaster and includes areas where development is taking in an unregulated manner.”

Naik statement came following confusion on lack of clarity on the provisions of the MUDA byelaws and its implementation in the scheduled areas of the state.

Allegations have been hurled that the MUDA building-byelaws have been illegally implemented in the schedule areas violating the Meghalaya Town & Country Planning Act, 1973.

Naik, however, responded by saying that the Meghalaya Town & Country Planning Act, 2001, supersede everything as it talks about implementation in the whole master plan areas of the state.”

Urban Affairs department director B Dutta added saying that the Master Plan of Shillong was approved way back in 1992 while the building byelaw was there since 2001. He said, “The master plan notified in 1992 covered a total area of 174 sq km which include the Shillong Municipality, Shillong Cantonment, and Townships which as per census of that time includes Mawlai, Nongthymmai, Pynthorumkhrah, Madanrting and 32 neigbouring villages.”

According to Dutta, these are the areas identified for the future perspective of the city and it extended from Barapani in the North, Laitkor in the South, almost up to Mawpdang in the East and Elephant junction in the West (that was the boundary of the master plan area and it was within these areas that the building byelaws have to be enforced).

Naik informed that the MUDA byelaws are already being implemented in the schedule areas as municipal areas are already part schedule areas.

Answering to a query over concerned raised on the ineffectiveness of the byelaws in rural areas, Naik said, “This is because we believe that building construction activities is much more in urban areas than rural areas but I agree why not in make it effective in rural areas as huge constructions is also taking place in rural areas and the department is going to put this notice before the state government.”

Refusing to comment on the recently approved building byelaws of the KHADC, Naik said, “Basically, I don’t want to comment on that but I would like to say as far as the MUDA and its building byelaws are concerned they are established by an Act approved by the cabinet and State Assembly.”

Also reacting to the claims of the KHADC that the MUDA is encroaching into the schedule areas, Naik clarified, “I don’t have any comment but as far as we are concerned, MUDA building byelaws is valid for the whole state, we are the only one accountable for building permission and nobody else.”

Naik indicated that the MUDA building byelaws will prevail on the KHADC byelaws and said, “In the concurrent list if there is clash between the acts of the union and state, the union government’s act will prevail upon the state.”- By Our Reporter