MoHUA publishes model building bye-laws and seismic safety guidance; BIS standards and NDMA earthquake guidelines support structural audits and resilience
MoHUA publishes Model Building Bye-laws (MBBL), 2016 with structural safety and seismic resilience provisions supported by BIS and NDMA earthquake-risk guidance; State/UT enforcement remains central.
- MoHUA published Model Building Bye-laws (MBBL), 2016, with Chapter 6 dedicated to structural safety and seismic resilience guidance for buildings.
- The release names BIS standards for earthquake resistant design of structures and for earthquake resistant design/construction and seismic evaluation, repair and strengthening, including IS 1893 and IS 4326:2013.
- NDMA’s National Disaster Management Guidelines on Management of Earthquakes provide guidance for safer construction, structural strengthening and retrofitting, including for lifeline and critical infrastructure.
- The enforcement of building bye-laws and building plan approvals is linked to Urban Local Bodies and Urban Development Authorities under the 12th Schedule, while the Union provides model regulations, technical standards, guidelines and advisories.
What happened
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) published Model Building Bye-laws (MBBL), 2016, with Chapter 6 focused on Provisions for Structural Safety. The provisions lay down guidelines and standards for structural safety and seismic resilience of buildings. The MoHUA release also connects seismic resilience to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) earthquake-resistant design and seismic evaluation/repair and strengthening standards, and to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) earthquake management guidelines.
Background and earlier position
UPSC can frame earthquake safety as a governance chain: constitutional distribution of responsibilities to Urban Local Bodies/Urban Development Authorities, MoHUA model bye-laws for structural safety and seismic resilience, and technical standards/guidelines by BIS and NDMA that support structural audit, evaluation, repair and strengthening.
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