New building code for Valley unveiled

New building code for Valley unveiled
eKantipur.com, 15-May-07

The government has unveiled a new building code that comes into effect from Tuesday in all the municipalities and urbanizing Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Kathmandu Valley.

Officials at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Construction (MoPPC) said the code, among other things, aims at checking the fragmentation of land used for construction of residential and other types of buildings.

Talking to the Post, Kishor Jung Karki, deputy spokesperson at the ministry, said the newly unveiled building code has a provision allowing 70 percent ground coverage in commercial sub-areas and 80 percent in residential sub-areas for up to 8 anna of land, i.e. 2,738 sq. ft., while carrying out new constructions.

The existing code formulated 14 years ago had a provision allowing 70 percent ground coverage for 2.2 to 4 anna ( 752.95 to 1,369 sq. ft), 60 percent for 4 to 8 anna (1,369 to 2,738 sq ft) and 50 percent for above 8 anna ( 2,738 Sq ft). "The provision of allowing more ground coverage for smaller pieces of land had given rise to fragmentation. The new provision will certainly do away with that practice," said Karki.

There are one metropolis, one sub-metropolis, three municipalities and 45 urbanizing VDCs in the Valley. The Valley has seen an unprecedented population boom in the last 15 years, particularly after the Maoists launched their armed insurgency in 1996.

The building code approved by the cabinet recently has made it mandatory to leave at least three meters of open space on all sides of government, semi-government, commercial and industrial buildings. The code has also made it mandatory for commercial and industrial buildings to have adequate parking facilities.

According to MoPPC, the owners of a commercial complex spread over 2,000 square feet will have to ensure at least 684.5 Sq ft for parking purposes. These complexes are also required to develop underground parking facilities.

Likewise, the building code allows people to construct up to 30 feet high in areas lying beyond 300 meters from the compound of the Royal Palace. Earlier, the authorities restricted construction height in these areas to 15 feet. With this decision, locals of these areas will be able to add at least one more storey to their houses.

The building code recognizes Dasharath Stadium, Tundikhel, the Army Pavillion, Ratna Park, Rani Pokhari and Bhrikuti Mandap as green zones. The government has a plan to remove all residential buildings from these areas to develop them as green zones.