The new building bylaws approved by the State administration will now enable construction of buildings with upto 10 floors in Dehradun and other areas in the plains. While the officials state that this will solve the problem of housing shortage and check increasing prices of apartments, observers point out that such relaxation should not be allowed considering the seismic vulnerability of Dehradun.

As per the new building bylaws, the height limit for buildings in Dehradun has been raised from 21 metres to 30 metres. With this, the construction of upto 10-storied buildings will be allowed in Dehradun and other places in the plains. Earlier buildings upto five stories high were allowed in the State capital.

The height limit for buildings in the mountainous regions has been set at 12 metres while the limit for Mussoorie has been set at 11 metres. According to the officials, raising the height limit for buildings in the plains will help resolve the shortage of housing in towns like Dehradun. It will also help tackle the rising costs of land and homes, state the officials.

However, observers point out that the decision will mainly benefit builders and provide poorer facilities to the people in the name of cheaper housing. They add that considering the seismic vulnerability of Dehradun, allowing construction of 10-storied buildings in the State capital is questionable especially since the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority has failed to ensure incorporation of seismic safety measures in the constructions it approves.

Presently, MDDA’s focus on incorporation of seismic safety features especially in multistoried buildings being constructed under its purview is limited to the condition of getting the building structurally designed and certified by a registered structural engineer to ensure incorporation of such features. However, observers point out that even this condition is not observed effectively in many constructions approved by the authority.