Expenses for demolition of illegal structures will be borne by owners themselves

Kathmandu, July 3

The Ministry of Federal Affairs has issued a circular to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, 12 sub-metropolitan cities and 204 municipalities to provide it with the details of houses and buildings constructed without getting their blueprints approved from the concerned local bodies.

According to Municipality Planning and Management Section of the MoFALD, a circular to this effect was issued today as per the May 24 letter of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority that sought the details to probe into violations of building code and other construction standards.

The local bodies have been asked to furnish to the MoFALD the number of houses and buildings constructed in contravention of the building code, number of houses and buildings that got approval of blueprint but were constructed against it, number of houses and buildings constructed in non-compliance with the building code of municipalities and the number of houses and buildings constructed in violation of the Basic Standards on Settlement Development, Urban Planning and Building Construction, 2015.

Earlier, the MoFALD had directed the local bodies to enforce the building code and other standards so as to build resilient communities in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes of April 25 and May 12 that resulted in huge loss of lives and property.

House owners are required to conclude an agreement with a technician for supervision of the entire construction process for approval of blueprint.

Any owner who bypasses the building code will be asked to demolish the illegal structures. If they fail to do so within the given time, the local authorities will themselves demolish the buildings.

However, the expenses for the demolition will be borne by the house owners.

The Local Governance Act confers power on the municipalities to issue directive to demolish illegally constructed structures.

The basic guideline has also fixed land use percentage. Residential houses built in an area of up to 250 square feet are required to leave 30 per cent open space. In plots with over 250 square feet space, structures have to be built leaving 40 per cent space.