Urban habitat board enters into agreement with Anna University

CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Anna University to perform third-party quality monitoring for its construction projects.

The board has signed similar agreements with the Centre for Urbanisation, Buildings and Environment (CUBE), which is an organisation backed by IIT-Madras and the Government of Tamil Nadu, and the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, for similar work.

The agreements were part of the board’s recent initiatives to revamp its quality control mechanisms in the wake of the controversy last year surrounding the poor quality of construction at its tenements in K.P. Park in Pulianthope here. The collapse of a 25-year-old building in Tiruvottiyur necessitated the strengthening of board’s quality control measures.

Apart from the internal quality monitoring, these institutions will work as independent third parties and conduct periodic inspections of the urban habitat board’s construction projects.

M. Govinda Rao, TNUHDB Managing Director, said the idea was to ensure quality during the construction phase itself and take steps, if needed. Pointing out that the board had been carrying out a number of construction projects across the State, he said that each institution would be assigned specific projects for monitoring as third-party agencies.

“They have been given clear terms of reference. They will conduct periodic inspections and submit reports to the board,” Mr. Rao added.