ITANAGAR, 27 Jul: The Architects Association of Arunachal Pradesh (AAAP) has voiced its concern over the unplanned and haphazard growth of the townships in the state even after the enactment of the Arunachal Pradesh Urban and Country Planning Act, 2010.
A delegation of the AAAP, led by its secretary Dooda Ete met with Capital Deputy Commissioner Talo Potom and state Town Planning Director Likha Suraj recently and deliberated on the issue of building permits.
Recently, the Capital deputy commissioner had issued notices to many building owners in and around Itanagar to obtain a building permit as per the Arunachal Pradesh Urban and Country Planning Act, which makes it mandatory to obtain a building permit for any kind of construction activity in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, including rural areas.
The administration and association resolved to find an amicable solution for the issue
of building permits for existing structures that were constructed before the enactment of the building bye-laws, it informed.
The association of professional architects also resolved to take punitive action against unscrupulous persons posing as architects and luring unsuspecting citizens of providing architectural consultancy services at low rates in violation of the Architects Act, 1971.
The AAAP clarified that “only a person registered as an architect with the Council of Architecture (COA), New Delhi can call himself or herself an architect and use the title and style of architect for carrying out any kind of professional architectural work.”
“The misrepresentation/misuse of the title and style of an architect is a punishable offence with fine and imprisonment in terms of the provision of sections 36 and 37 of the Act,” it said, adding: “The council of architecture (COA) guidelines prohibits any kind of advertisements by architects. Therefore, advertisements in print or social media are in violation of COA guidelines and need to be avoided.”
In order to control unqualified persons from posing as architects, the association suggested empanelling local architects in the departments.
