Patna, July 7: A group of residents of Indirapuri Co-operative Housing society in the upscale Ashiyana Road area have lodged an FIR against two builders for allegedly starting construction work of two multi-level apartment complexes in their locality violating the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) norms.

The residents lodged the FIR yesterday at Shastri Nagar police station after the builders allegedly started the construction work flouting the Bihar Municipal Act after PMC wrongly approved their projects — Vastu Vihar and A-One Galaxy. Confirming the development, Shastri Nagar police station house officer Rajeev Ranjan Singh said an inquiry was on in the case and the facts were being verified with PMC.

Vastu Vihar is being constructed on 2 cottahs on plot number B/29 in the society. The area of A-One Galaxy on plot numbers A/46 and A/47 is 3 cottahs.

The Section 19.4 of Modified Building Bylaws of Bihar Municipal Act clearly states that the minimum width of a plot for assembly occupancies (apartments or hotels) should be 25m. They should be in front of streets not less than 15m wide. In case of newly developed areas, the width of the plot for assembly occupancies should not be less than 30m and should be in front of streets not less than 27m wide.

“In case of Vastu Vihar, the width of the plot is 12.5m. The width of the plot of A-One Galaxy is 22m. Also, the street along which the apartments are being constructed is only 6.2m (20 feet) wide, way too less than the prescribed limit of 15m. The height of the complexes will also cross 55ft, too high for such a narrow street. Despite these limitations, the building plans were approved by PMC. It clearly indicates nexus between the builders and officials in the civic body. We had no other option than approaching the police because our visits to PMC office yielded no results,” said R.P. Sinha, a retired professor of veterinary medicine at Patna Veterinary College and a complainant in the case.

Another complainant said apartments cannot be constructed in a co-operative society, wherein plots are allotted exclusively for residential purpose.

“In case of Vastu Vihar apartment, a member himself is getting the building constructed by a builder. The A-One Galaxy is being built on a plot sold off by a co-operative member without taking the permission from the co-operative society committee. All members of the society are dead against these projects as they are illegal. They would thwart the tranquillity of the area and would put too much burden on the existing infrastructure of the locality,” he said.

The builders countered the complainants, saying their projects did not flout any norm and were approved by PMC.

“We have got the plan approved by PMC. Then why are you (The Telegraph) after us? We are constructing the apartment complex along a 20ft road. Several apartments are being constructed in the city on small plots and narrow roads. What is wrong with our project?” Mohammad Chand, the builder and developer of A-One Galaxy, said. Bipin Kumar, the builder of the Vastu Vihar, said he too, was sticking to all the norms and his building plan was also approved by PMC.

The PMC officials defended themselves saying 51 certified architects were empowered to approve building plans, which are later verified by the corporation. Anyone of them could have made a mistake, an official said.

“If the rules have been flouted in these cases, the residents have done the right thing by lodging a police complaint. According to the procedure, architects approve the building plan and we get it verified later. If rules are violated, vigilance cases are lodged. We will certainly look into the case on priority basis if an application is given to us. If required, we will even cancel the registration of the architects who approved these plans,” said Vijay Kumar, the director of the urban planning section of PMC.

The Telegraph had reported in its May 13, 2011, edition how the builders were developing cash-rich projects flouting the floor area ratio (the ratio between the land size and the total floor area of a building).