UT gives nod to self-certification of commercial building plans

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 13

In a major step towards empowering people, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore has approved an amendment to the Estate rules for allowing self-certification of plans of commercial buildings.

With the approval of the scheme, owners of commercial buildings will no longer be required to run from pillar to post in the Estate Office to get their plans approved. Under the new rules, which will be notified tomorrow, any registered architect with the Council of Architects can submit a plan on behalf of the owner. The owner can start the work if no objections are received from the Estate Office within 15 days of the submission of the plan.

The self-certification has been made mandatory for all types of plans for commercial properties such as booths, shop-cum-offices (SCOs) and shop-cum-flats (SCFs).

The plans will be submitted by the architect certifying that these adhere to the requirements as laid down under the Building Rules, including zoning and architectural controls.

The construction can be started after the period of notice in case the competent authority does not convey any objection to the applicant. It will be the responsibility of the architect to inform the Estate Office if the owner makes any construction beyond the certified plan.

The Estate Officer will have the power to check the construction of the building at any time and if any violations are found, action will be taken against the owner. A provision has also been made to blacklist the architect if it is found that he or she concealed facts of gave wrong information while submitting the plan.

Fee for self-certification 

The fee for self-certification  has been fixed. Owners will have to  pay Rs 5,000 for booths, Rs 10,000 for bay shops and Rs 2.50 per sq ft  for shop-cum-offices (SCOs) and shop-cum-flats (SCFs) with the application for the building plan.