India, where 59 % of land area is classified as highly vulnerable to earthquake, going to have, for the first time, a stringent set of construction guidelines intended to improve seismic safety. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who heads the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), has cleared a set of Earthquake Guidelines, which will be announced shortly. All state governments and Ministries will have to frame a Disaster Management plan on the basis of these guidelines. As per these guidelines, it is mandatory for builders - both private and public - to follow seismic safety standards in all new construction as per an “Earthquake Resistant Building Code.” This sets specifications regarding the structure of the building, materials used, soil type and construction patterns. If a new building is not found to be compliant with the code, the state government and the National, state and District Disaster Management Authority can take punitive action.The key guidelines: • Priority life-line structures and critical infrastructure will undergo structural safety audit. Appropriate seismic strengthening and retrofitting will have to carried out on those buildings which are found to be weak in a phased manner.• Guidelines give suggestions on incentives like exemption from property tax and disincentives by local bodies for the effective implementation of these guidelines. • Provision to punish the defaulter if the new building is not found not to be earthquake-resistant. • One can get a loan from a financial institution for any new construction only if the proposed building has earthquake-resistant features. • Financial institutions expected to disburse funds only to those buildings which are earthquake-resistant. • Structural safety audit of buildings in moderate and high seismic risk zones.
