Chennai builders may have to pay vector control fee

Chennai

Builders in the city may soon have to pay a vector control charge while getting the building plan approval. This will go to the civic body’s kitty to be used for control of mosquitoes and rodents at construction sites. Sources in the corporation said they have found that most construction sites in the city, where water stagnates, have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The civic officials will hold discussions with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority ( CMDA) to collect the fee while approving plans of multi-storey buildings. A senior corporation official said builders have not adopted vector control measures. “We will use the money to spray larvicides and fog the construction sites. The amount will vary with the size of the building,” an official said.

After recent cases of dengue, the corporation has also decided to conduct inspections at construction sites across the 15 zones. “We have to ensure that there is no breeding of mosquitoes or rats. We will issue notices to builders violating the norms or do not maintain hygienic conditions,” the official said. T Chitty Babu, secretary of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India ( Credai), said the association will sensitise all member builders on the need to maintain hygiene. “If a building under construction becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes, the builder has to be blamed,” he said.

The corporation will conduct awareness campaigns among residents and real estate developers to prevent water logging. They will be asked to either destroy dry tubes, tyres and pots at construction sites. The civic body recently found that a large number of workers stay in unhygenic conditions near these construction sites. These store water for their daily use and mosquitoes breed in these water containers. Trenches dug up for metro rail work and laying of storm water drains also collect water, adding to mosquito density in the city.

Source: The Times of India, Chennai