Patna,(BiharTimes): The Patna Municipal Corporation has decided to crack its whip. Houses built in violation of the building by-laws or in deviation to the approved building plan in the state capital will come under its critical scanner.

Over one lakh houses and apartments built in the last few years and owners who have let out apartment premises for commercial use are to come under the ambit of the audit immediately.

The PMC has started using global positioning system-enabled digital survey of all buildings, both completed or under construction, for which maps and plans were approved by empanelled architects in the past few years.

Sources said it has also temporarily stopped approving planning reports of new buildings, following a high court directive to keep tabs on construction in violation of approved maps.

It needs to be recalled that the Patna high court had on May 10 last issued the order in this regard.

Executive officers of different circles of PMC can stop construction work, if builders or property owners do not provide documents for preparing the list.

It would not provide sewerage, drainage and water connections to buildings that do not have completion certificates. The civic body executive officers would also coordinate with Patna Electric Supply Undertaking to ensure that electricity connection is not given to such houses.

Reports said that construction activities in areas like Mainpura, Kurji and Digha, which do not come under the PMC jurisdiction, would be monitored by the executive officer of the nearby civic body circle.

“New apartments more than 11m high would not be allowed to be constructed on roads less than 20-foot wide. Also, no commercial and mixed purpose buildings can be constructed on land earmarked for residential use. If any such construction is going on at present, it would be stopped. Ongoing construction in violation of such norms would be stopped and the property owners could be penalized,” PMC commissioner Kuldip Narayan was quoted in the media recently.

“In order to keep a tab we are doing a survey of all buildings, for which the maps have been passed by the empanelled architects during the past four years. Sanitary inspectors and revenue collectors would prepare lists of under construction buildings in all the wards. Our target is to complete the survey in the next 15 days,” he told the Telegraph.