5

The Times of India,

CITY
SCAN

NASHIK
SPOTLIGHT

8 ISSUES

LEGAL

Mumbai May 26, 2007

land. 'Torre Mayor, a 55-storey building in Mexico city was constructed using dampers. When an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck on 22nd January 2003, there was widespread damage in Mexico City . However, Torre Mayor survived without a scratch as the dampers absorbed 70-80 % of the earthquake energy . He says the BIS codes endeavor, as far as possible, that structures are able to respond, without major damage, to shocks of moderate intensities and without total collapse to shocks of heavy intensities. "Indian codes are aiming at 'Collapse Prevention' or at the most 'Life safety' performance levels. Unfortunately these are flaunted as "Earthquake Resistant" thereby giving an impression to the end-users that the building structure is designed to be Earthquake Resistant- Immediate Occupancy (ER-IO) standards. The ERIO standards are such that even if there is a major earthquake, such building can be continued to be occupied to live in, post one to understand the relative earthquake risk in the different localities. The geological faults are mapped in this exercise. It will be good to know the relatively safe places and those where the risk will be great. For instance, north central Mumbai covering Borivli and the Kanheri hill range will be safer than Thane, Mulund and other eastern suburbs. "In Mumbai an honest survey needs to be undertaken to find out the seismic status of all the buildings and how many of them will need to be 'retrofitted". All the new constructions will have to strictly adopt the earthquake-resistant designs. Constructing high rises on swamps, marshy tracts, areas reclaimed from the sea and salt-pan lands may prove to be risky and costly too. Such wet lands have the ability to transmit earthquake vibrations very fast and are not suitable for earthquake-resistant constructions," Prof. Subramanyam says.

he union home ministry recently issued fresh guidelines making it mandatory for all new residential and commercial multi-storied buildings to be Earthquake Resistant (ER), with immediate effect. The ministry has set June 30 as the deadline for strict compliance with the fresh codes, which involve a revised techno-legal regime, new building codes and revised town planning which are mandatory for all developers in the city .
The latest guidelines indicate that there is a need for much higher earthquake protection levels than what is offered by the existing Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) codes. The move is widely acclaimed by city experts. Ravi Sinha, Professor, Structural Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering IIT says, "High rise buildings should be properly designed and constructed to make it earthquake resistant. Earthquakes do not kill people. People are actually killed by the collapse of badly designed buildings with inferior raw materials. But if the latest guidelines are complied with, then high rises can be safeguarded against earthquakes." Sandeep Donald Shah, Director, Taylor Devices Inc, one of the world's largest suppliers of earthquake protection devices, believes that presently , most of Mumbai's high-rises cannot withstand the impact of an earthquake of 6 to 6.5 on the Richter scale. This, he says, is because these buildings do not have any 'Dampers'- (a mechanical device, akin to the shock absorber of a car but much larger in size, that absorbs the energy released by an earthquake so that buildings where they are installed are not structurally damaged.) "Dampers should be installed for all the high-rise buildings but it will increase the building cost by Rs.150 to 200 per sq.ft. Buildings get damaged during earthquakes as the energy supplied by the quake to the building causes damage of

B E N C H M A R K
R E S I D E N T I A L P R O P E R T Y R AT E S I N M U M B A I
SOUTH MUMBAI Rs./sq. ft. Cuffe Parade 15,000-45,000 Churchgate 12,000-18,000 Marine Lines 12,000-17,000 Malabar Hill 15,000-45,000 Napeansea Road 15,000-45,000 Worli 12,000-35,000 Prabhadevi 11,000-20,000 Mahim 6,500-10,000 CENTRAL SUBURBS Rs./sq. ft. Byculla 5,000-11,000 Wadala 5,000 -7,500 Sion 6,000-11,000 Kurla 3,000-4,500 Powai 4,500-11,000 Chembur 4,000-7,000 Ghatkopar 4,500-8,000 Bhandup 3,000-4,500 Mulund 3,750-5,000 Thane 3,500-5,000 Dombivali 1,800-3,000 Kalyan 1,100-2,500 Ambernath 900-1,400 NAVI MUMBAI Rs./sq. ft. Vashi 3,000-5,000 Airoli 1,800-3,000 Kopar Khairane 2,500-4,500 Sanpada 3,000-4,500 Nerul 3,000-4,500 CBD Belapur 3,000-4,500 Kharghar 2,000-3,000 Kalamboli 1,400-1,800 Panvel 1,800-3,000 WESTERN SUBURBS Rs./sq. ft. Bandra (E) 6,000-9,500 Bandra(W) 9,000-22,000 Khar(E) 5,000-9,000 Khar(W) 8,000-16,000 Santacruz(E) 5,500-9,000 Santacruz(W) 7,000-14,000 Vile Parle(E) 5,000-9,000 Vile Parle(W) 7,000-16,000 Andheri(E) 4,000-6,500 Andheri(W) 5,000-9,000 Jogeshwari 3,000-6,000 Goregaon(E) 3,000-6,500 Goregaon(W) 3,000-6,000 Malad(E) 3,000-5,000 Malad(W) 3,000-6,000 Kandivli(E) 3,000-5,000 Kandivli(W) 3,000-5,000 Borivli(E) 2,800-4,500 Borivli(W) 3,000-5,000 Mira Road (E) 1,200-2,500 Vasai(E) 1,100-1,700 Vasai(W) 1,100-1,700 Virar(E) 1,000-1,600 Virar(W) 1,000-1,600
Source : 'Narains Corp' Property Consultants & REALTORS * The difference from carpet to built up area is negligible in older buildings. Rates are subject to amenities, upkeep & vary within the same building depending on view, layout etc.

Safety first
The new earthquake resistant norms set by the Union Home Ministry could make new high-rises safer, but costlier, says Prasad Sathyen
earthquake", Shah says. He points out that there is a need to comply with international norms for earthquake protection. USA, Japan are highly seismic countries but buildings here are designed to sustain a major earthquake without much damage. Geologist and retired IIT Professor, V Subramanyam believes that there is a need to fine tune the way buildings are planned to be earthquake resistant. This can be done by understanding the seismicity of micro-zones in and around the metros. " Micro- zoning for the island city will help Most developers in the city claim that they adhere to the BIS codes and would take all steps necessary to ensure that they adhere to the new norms as well, though they were unwilling to comment on the specifics of the new code saying that they would need to study the norms in detail. They fear that the new norms could increase the construction cost, leading to a further hike in property prices. But given a choice between life and death -- as earthquake situations could well be this is one cost that the buyer would not complain too much about.

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structural members," he says. Shah, himself a Masters in Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics, from the University of Sheffield, has an interesting story to relate. Mexico City , he says, is considered to be the worst seismic site in the world as it was built on a dried lake bed, just like Mumbai is largely built on reclaimed

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