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| Sunday, 29 May 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Guidelines for construction of permanent housing for tsunami affected persons : On a firm foundation Compiled by Rikaza Hassan
The guidelines are the result of an attempt to ensure that the non-governmental organisations, local community organisations and other generous organisations and individuals involved in the construction of permanent housing for the tsunami affected adhere to proper standards and put forth an end product that is conducive to the conditions of the locals as well as take into consideration the diverse traditions of the different communities who will take up residence in the newly built structures, especially in the rural areas of the island. The donor organisations, most of which are of foreign origin lack the local know-how of the conditions that will be faced by the intended residents. On the other hand, the local technicians lack the expertise of the foreign constructors. The government realism this potential quagmire as well as the sensitivity of the issues at stake, instructed the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) to undertake the preparation of the guidelines. The main objective of the guidelines is to help develop adequately stable structures combining the ideas of those inhabiting the affected coasts as much as possible, so as to mitigate, if not entirely eliminate the risk associated with living in areas prone to tidal waves. The guidelines have also taken into consideration the issue of high velocity winds especially concerning those inhabiting the Northeast and South West areas of the country. Site selection The guidelines specify that selection of lands for the purpose of relocation of households formerly in high risk prone or protected areas as designated by the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD) should be as par the regulations imposed by the Urban Development Authority (UDA), the National Physical Planning Department (NPPD), the CCD as well as the respective local authorities. Furthermore both reconstruction of damaged dwellings within designated sites as well as relocation must take into consideration parameters such as the socio-economic compatibility together with existing surrounding environs and the socio-cultural economic factor. Also to be considered are the existing and planned infrastructure such as access roads, water supply, sewage disposal, electricity and telecommunication. The regulations and guidelines of the Coast Conservation Act, limiting the use of coastal lands for development are to be strictly adhered to and enforced. The coastal belt has been divided into three zones. Zone One has been designated as 100m towards the land from the mean high water line in Killinochchi, Puttalam, Gampaha, Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota and 200m landwards in the Eastern province. No new structures will be permitted to be built within this land area except lighthouses and structures for port and harbour related activities. Any building constructed within Zone One should be located on land that is three metres below the contour from the mean sea level and have the plinth level raised by at least 3m up. The coastal belt of Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts falling into Zone Two have been designated as 200m towards land from the mean high water line. However apart from port and harbour related constructions, historic monuments and buildings of historical value, hotels and restaurants, fishing landing sites and supportive facilities as well as clustered fishing communities close to fishery harbours in appropriate locations have been permitted. All coastal railway lines and highways have been designated to Zone Two, while agriculture including tree crops in particular has been highly encouraged. Zone Three or 700 m towards the land from the mean high water line is to host relocated and supportive activities. Settlements Once the planned structure or settlement is approved by the respective local authority, they must fulfil the stipulated requirements of the U.D.A. regulations. For instance, when planning a settlement of twenty and above housing units, be they semi-detached or condominium apartments, the guideline stipulates that the settlement must conform to the standard of utilising 65 per cent of land for housing facilities, 10 per cent for common areas, 20 per cent for roads, streets, footpaths and drains and 10 per cent of the settlement land for public and semi-public purposes. The parking area designated for residential buildings such as flats, dwelling units (individual housing units excluded) and terrace houses has also been increased to 50 sq. metres of floor area. The size of the plot of land allocated for either individual housing units or town houses differs on the availability of other resources. The minimum plot size for an individual housing unit in an area where the supply of pipe borne water and adequate sewage disposal are not available is between 10 and 20 perches (253 to 506 sq. metres) while that of a town house is between 6 and 12 perches (152 to 303 sq. metres). The same in areas where adequate pipe borne water and sewage disposal are available can be minimised to 6 perches (152 sq. metres). The guidelines specifiy that all settlements within the 100 to 200m buffer zone must contain adequate means of evacuation, evacuation points must be elevated and may be podiums, platforms, towers or roof terraces. All evacuation paths must be perpendicular to the sea. Cycle tracks and walkways are recommended in dense settlements and all roads, streets or foot paths must contain the necessary fixtures. Design It also states that the design of the architects must leave room for further development of the house by the intended owners as well as stable evacuation platforms within the house or easy access to a common platform. Individual dwellings must be properly positioned and all residential structures must be correctly oriented, especially within the 100 to 200 m buffer zone. (it has been observed that houses with load bearing walls perpendicular to the direction of the waves were less resistant to the ocean waves than those parallel to the direction of the waves.) All residential buildings should also adhere to a minimum requirement of 10ft x 10ft (3x3 sq.m) for a large room and 8ft x 10ft (2.4x3 sq.m) for a small room. The houses to be constructed on relocated lands may be of stand alone form or walk-up apartments. Single storey houses (low rise, low density stand alone housing unit), stoeyed individual houses (two to three storeyed, self-sustaining, self-standing, low rise, high density Houses in a linear or cluster pattern) and multi storeyed attached houses or town houses (two to three storeyed, self sustaining, self-standing, low rise, medium density houses arranged linearly or in clusters) are all forms of individual stand alone houses. Stand alone houses is recommended as being preferable to other forms of housing as they enable higher participation of the user in its design and construction while leaving room for further vertical and horizontal expansion by the beneficiary. As it stands on an individual plot of land, it contains both a front and rear garden along with individual services such as electricity and water. It further removes the burden on the Local Authorities in maintenance. Walk-up apartments are assemblies of housing units, distributed along different floors, vertically above each other with up to four floors for residential occupation. Services, the staircase and walk ways and land for recreation and other activities must all be shared by the residents. To reduce the disadvantages of such housing, all service lines must be vertical and be accessible only through a common lobby and provisions must be made to carry out maintenance work for which the Local Authority too is responsible. Physical infrastructure The guideline also specifies that storm water (water which runs off buildings and land as a result of rain fall) must be disposed of by an on-site drainage network. Primary drains or site drains should be constructed on either side of internal roads, streets, footpaths or backyards and should convey the water collected to secondary or off-site drains which may further dispose the water into a nearby stream or canal. Rainfall intensity, ground slope and drain type must be taken into consideration when determining the sizes of the storm water drains. The proper management of waste water results in continued maintenance of the coastal environment and hence improvement of the economic function of coastal ecosystems. Waste water mismanagement is primarily due to insufficient awareness of the householder and the high costs of reduction. The methods of treating waste water are: disposal on-plot, treatment and disposal on-site and treatment and disposal off-site. The best solution to each locale is a realistic combination of two or more of the methods so as to suit the individual environment. A suitable garbage disposal system for each household together with an accessible design for collection and disposal of the solid waste must be present. The separation of bio-degradable and non bio-degradable solid waste must be encouraged domestically and communities directed towards domestic composting methods. A waste recycling centre must also be established to decrease garbage accumulation. Services All settlements must have easy access to safe drinking water through a piped system of water supply or a protected well or even ground water (tube wells). The water supply authority must concur on the quantity (per capita consumption to be taken as 180 litres per person per day) and the quality of the water. All settlements must also have access to electricity supply from the national grid or through an alternative energy source assured by the developer. All on-site roads, footpaths and streets must have sufficient lighting and whenever possible electric cables laid underground to avoid the risk of falling over head cables caused by high winds as well as illegal tapping in. Transformers must be located so as to not inconvenience the public with a distance of 25ft (7.5m) between a transformer and a house. No construction is permitted under any passing transmission cable with a horizontal distance of 6ft (2m) on either side of the line as a service reservation. Settlements should also have access to at least one telecommunication network though no transmission tower is permitted to be constructed within the project site itself. The recommended distance between the tower and the closest building should at least be twice the height of the tower. The set of guidelines is an essential and valuable compilation considering the varied interests of the organisations actively involved in this commendable effort to get the displaced families back on their feet and offer them a sense of normalcy and reassurance. Also to be mentioned is that it was put out into the public forum at the nick of time as permanent housing reconstruction and relocation begins to get underway. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
The National Housing Development Authority launched a set of 'Guidelines
for Housing Development in the Tsunami Affected Coastal Belt of Sri Lanka'
as reconstruction of permanent housing begins to take form. 
