Builders in Patna are a worried lot

Snehil Jaiswal / TNN / Jun 14, 2006, 02:16 IST

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With the collapse of Vaishnavi Apartment on Thursday night collapsed the dreams of its occupants.

PATNA: With the collapse of Vaishnavi Apartment on Thursday night collapsed the dreams of its occupants. An absconding builder and a temple trust claiming ownership of the plot have left them homeless and in financial crunch.
And with the Thursday night incident, builders in the city are a worried lot. They feel that incidents such as this and the fault of one or two from their community will make them all suffer.
As Gaurav, a builder, said: "People will now be scared to invest in land after seeing what's happening in the apartment collapse case." Architects, on the other hand, are cautioning people.Most architects now seem to emphasise the necessity of knowing the credentials of the builder.
"It is imperative to find out the track record of the builder. The projects that he has already undertaken should be well known before you proceed with your purchase," said Ashesh Kumar, a Patna-based architect.

Architects also caution that one must never purchase a property without checking that the plan has been approved by the PRDA. "Once you have a copy of the plan with you, one must go to an architect and find out the details regarding the number of floors, bedrooms etc," said Vijay, another Patna-based architect.
He said one must find out about the change of hands that the property has had. "A good builder will give you all details of land and the registration deed," he said, adding that people should make it a point to get the details of the property movement.

Apart from this, one must check the builder's agreement with the land owner and pros and cons, if any. "A no-objection certificate has to be issued by the circle office, certifying that no litigation is pending against the land," said Achalesh Nandan, another architect.
"The certificate," said architect Abhishek Sharma, "shows that all clearances have been made in the property and that it can change hands."
"Another important document is the mutation order, which is essential to ensure that the government has registered with itself the person buying the property," said Kumar. The order contains the names of the seller and the purchaser.
Though provisions have already been made for making these documents available to the buyers of property, there are others which are still not being followed in the state.
As Vijay said: "Almost 90 per cent of the apartments are not registered, as the process entails a lot of expenditure. In fact, registration charges in Bihar are higher as compared to the rest of the country."
Urban development minister Ashwini Kumar Chaubey told TOI that the government is planning to bring about changes in the Apartment Act so that people are not fooled by builders in property dealings.
But as the government and architects are all set to tighten the noose around builders, they feel that things are unfair for them.
"Everything that goes wrong is blamed upon us. One or two incidents here and there spoil our reputation," said builder Dhirendra.

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