New Delhi: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is in the process of preparing guidelines for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to create a set of codes for banks that provide home loans to ensure that only housing units that conform to prescribed safety standards can avail of loans, NDMA vice-chairman Shashidhar Reddy told reporters on Friday.
NDMA, headed by the Prime Minister, is the apex body for disaster management in India.
The guidelines will be implemented strictly for the housing sector, hospitals, malls, schools and other buildings.
“Underlying objective is to ensure safe and risk free dwellings that can save human lives and economic assets in the unfortunate occurrence of a national disaster. The Authority has started working on the guidelines,” Reddy said.
NDMA is also discussing a draft policy for retrofitting. “The authority has already undertaken a survey to identify buildings that need repair, taking into consideration the type of construction, age of the building, materials that have been used etc,” Reddy said.
