RAWALPINDI: Murree Municipal Corporation (MMC) has sought help from the divisional commissioner in granting permission to building owners to reconstruct their houses or repair them after the snow fall as there are chances the dilapidated buildings may collapse.

In order to relax the ban on construction in Murree city, Divisional Commissioner Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry on Wednesday directed the MMC to start a survey of dangerous buildings in the city areas.

The commissioner had called a meeting with the MMC administration to discuss the issue and after listening to the complaints of residents and the administration’s stance, he asked the corporation to conduct a fresh survey of the dangerous buildings as soon as possible.

The meeting was held at the Commissioner’s Office with Commissioner Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry in the chair. It was attended by Deputy Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal and senior officials of the district administration and the MMC.

Due to the ban on construction in Murree city, residents cannot repair buildings damaged during snowfall

Talking to Dawn, a senior official of the district administration said the MMC had conducted a survey of the city areas of Murree where new construction was banned and declared 69 buildings dangerous which should be demolished as soon as possible to avoid any untoward situation.

He said residents of the city wanted permission to reconstruct their buildings but the MMC had refused as there was ban on construction in the city areas and the provincial government can grant permission for reconstruction and repair.

He said the issue of the height of buildings was also discussed during the meeting and that at present, there is a ban on high rise buildings in Murree. Only 30 feet high buildings are allowed in order to avoid damage in case of land sliding.

“One of the proposals is that permission may be granted for double storey buildings on the basis of a soil test of the area. Many people have constructed buildings which are higher than 30 feet where the soil is not fit for that. If approved, soil testing will be added to the building bylaws for Murree,” he said.

The commissioner decided to consult experts and the matter will be referred to the Punjab government for final approval. He asked the MMC to present the detailed briefing in the matters related to public interest in order to avoid land sliding and human and financial loss in the area.

Talking to Dawn, Murree Assistant Commissioner Arifullah Awan said MMC will have experts conduct the survey, including soil testing experts, building department engineers, architects and others. He said the MMC building branch had been asked to consult with experts so buildings in the city areas are constructed to be earthquake proof and make new guidelines for commercial and domestic buildings.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2017