Hidden dangers that go beyond bricks and beams

Hans India

18 hours ago

The fire in Sigachi Industries, allegedly operating without proper safety clearances, left many dead and injured. Infernos of various types due to different causes have become alarmingly frequent. Fire threats may now extend far beyond industrial zones. The Sigachi incident sounded a serious warning, and it looms over Hyderabad's signature high-rise apartments, ostentatious hotels, cramped hostels, and even modest apartment complexes housing 70–80 residents. The next spark could well ignite in any home, office, or school.
Across Telangana and likely other parts of India, the path from blueprint to building is often ambitious on paper, but shaky on the ground. It leans heavily on 'adjustments' at every level, beginning with a visit to the town planning officer and navigating through layers of vague regulations. Permits, more often than not, move swiftly, not on merit or safety compliance, but through subtle, unspoken incentives that grease the system. Mandatory 'No Objection Certificates' (NOCs) from fire departments, environmental authorities, water boards, and the airport authority rarely guarantee that a building is truly safe. Sigachi's claim about having NOC from the fire department is absurd.
Stage-wise inspections of the foundation, plumbing, electrical wiring, framing and insulation are practically non-existent. Completion certificates followed by occupancy certificates remain, in many cases, only a theoretical requirement. Despite RERA regulations, many Residents' Welfare Associations have to cope with unresolved issues.
Construction, ultimately, is not just about walls and roofs. It is about trust, which is not built with concrete but with accountability. Faulty electrical wiring, poorly sealed gas pipes, elevators that are less a service and more a moving coffin, bathrooms with slippery tiles waiting for a fall, substandard geysers, air conditioners, and leaking rooftops are not mere inconveniences but life-threatening hazards.
A short circuit in just one flat can trigger a fire that engulfs an entire building, with smoke choking every floor. Yet, electrical systems are often certified in bulk, signed off casually or worse, never inspected at all. Fire exits remain locked, alarms do not function, and extinguishers hang more as décor than for defence purposes.
What we urgently need is that construction is regulated and safety is scrupulously embedded into the process, from the beginning, not hastily added after disaster strikes. Every critical component must be independently certified by qualified third-party professionals, not by the contractor or a lethargic GHMC official. These certifications must be digitized and uploaded to a central registry accessible to the public.
Against this background, three promising initiatives, each a brainchild of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, hold the potential to transform the construction landscape in the state, if implemented in letter and spirit. These forward-looking measures can correct the flawed journey of many builders and restore trust among prospective buyers. 'HYDRA' (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection) aims to establish a well-coordinated disaster management system.
'Future City' offers a beacon of planned growth. Reconstituting Telangana State Disaster Management Authority (TGSDMA), with the Chief Minister as Chairperson, signals a firm commitment to proactive urban safety. These should stand as 'pre-emptive protectors.' This vision becomes achievable if a proactive safety cell is established, staffed not by clerks but by structural engineers, electrical safety experts, fire consultants and public health specialists.
Introducing a 'Digital Risk Rating System' for all upcoming and existing buildings could be a transformative step, evaluating key factors like fire preparedness, electrical safety, structural integrity, occupancy load, and emergency access.
Resident Welfare Associations should evolve into active safety watch networks, with trained community members empowered to identify and report violations.
In most apartments electrical issues in individual flats are ticking time bombs, waiting for a spark to become a tragedy. Blame game begins only when problems arise. The builder shrugs. The government's electricity department becomes noncommittal claiming their responsibility ends at the main meter.
If appliance manufacturers are legally bound to provide a free warranty period and later offer paid services for longer periods, why should not builders, who construct massive, complex, and long-term utility structures be made obligatory by similar legal obligations? If a refrigerator comes with a warranty and lifelong paid service options, why not an apartment, which is vastly more expensive and far more critical to human life and safety? Penalties for non-compliance must be clear and enforceable. After all, builders must not walk away from the very homes they have created. They must remain accountable to those who live in them.
Structural faults, like cracks in beams, foundational flaws, faulty internal wiring or plumbing, seepage from poor waterproofing, malfunctioning fire systems, or electrical overloads stemming from construction defects, must be addressed mandatorily by the builder. Yet, most builders vanish after handing over the property and collecting final payments.
Should not they, like appliance manufacturers, be legally obligated to offer a well-defined post-handover support system? The way forward is that builders by an Act are not granted final approval or occupancy certificates unless the post-handover service framework is unambiguously submitted. Complaints should be monitored by an independent, accessible, consumer-friendly forum, with enforceable penalties for negligence or non-compliance. In the context of fire incidents, short circuits in common areas, plumbing failures and rooftop leakages. The absence of builders' accountability is no longer a mere oversight. It is evolving into a silent but dangerous urban crisis.
When a builder uses low-quality and substandard materials in construction, it is not just poor workmanship, but it is a direct threat to life and property. There is, therefore, an urgent and undeniable case for enacting or reinforcing laws that criminalize the sale and use of such low-grade components, especially when they fail certified safety standards.
Accountability in construction must no longer be optional; it must be enforced. Generally, and in the context of 'Future City' and to make Telangana a hub of the 'world manufacturing sector', envisioned by Revanth Reddy, for citizens to live with dignity and security must be the foundation.