A meeting led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) Prakash Man Singh on Monday took the decision to this effect in view of the devastation caused by the earthquake and aftershocks across the country in the last couple of weeks.
Issuing 16-point decisions, the ministry has directed all the municipalities and district development committees not to issue construction permits for new buildings within the current fiscal year, which ends in mid-July.As per the decision, even those who have already got the design of their buildings approved but are yet to begin the construction will be barred from carrying out the construction works until the government introduces the new building code.
People who have already started building their houses can go ahead with the construction, but they will be allowed to build only up to two-story, said Purna Chandra Bhattarai, spokesperson of MoFALD. He said that the local government bodies have also been ordered to strictly monitor under-construction houses to ensure compliance with the existing National Building Code and follow other construction guidelines.
The ministry has said that the government would take strong legal action against those found violating the ban.
By the end of the fiscal year, the government aims to amend several existing policies related to building construction, including the Building Act of 1998 and the outdated National Building Code, which came into existence in 1994 but was approved only in 2003 through a cabinet decision.
Spokesperson Bhattarai said that locals in the earthquake-affected districts will be allowed to construct temporary shelters in certain areas designated by the local bodies.
Likewise, the government has also decided to demolish compound walls of the buildings that encroach upon public land and those built without following any standards.
The government has also banned land plotting for housing and construction of high-rise apartments across the country until a new land use plan comes into implementation.
"Land plotting was rampant across the country in the past. But none of the developers adhered to building bye-laws set by the government for housing," added Bhattarai.
Govt employees clearing faulty designs to be punished
The MoFALD has also decided to take action against government employees of the municipalities for permitting construction of buildings against government standards.
The ministry is planning to prepare a list of such employees and take departmental action against them, said the ministry officials.
"Many government officials were found issuing construction permits even for the buildings that did not meet the standards under the building code. In addition, there seems to have been no effective monitoring during building construction. No wonder, many buildings sustained damages during the earthquakes," said Purna Chandra Bhattarai, spokesperson of MoFALD.
He also said that the government will also take action against engineers for designing faulty buildings through Nepal Engineering Council.
Likewise, the government has also decided not to allow government employees to design any buildings of private sectors from now onwards.
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