CCPS Calls for Government to Regulate use of glass in buildings

The Confederation of Construction Products and Services (CCPS) called for compulsory implementation of safety standards on use of glass in buildings as is the accepted practice worldwide. Addressing a media conference held at Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi on “ Urgent Need for Proper Norms on Use of Glass in Buildings- CCPS concerns Human Safety” , Shri Deepak Gehlowt, Convener, CCPS informed that glass use in India has increased manifolds in the past few years especially in shopping malls, commercial complexes, offices, hotels, airports and residential buildings inviting high risk of human injury. Worldwide statistics show that increasing use of glass results in significant increase in injuries due to body impact and falling glass. In India too, several cases have been reported where people have lost lives, sacrificed their limbs due to use of wrong type of glass at critical places in the buildings. The risk of glass aggravates especially in case of man made or natural disaster.

Apart from Shri Gahlowt, Shri D.S. Sachdev, former Director General, CPWD, presently Advisor to the Delhi Govt, Shri Virendera Sharma , Chief Engineer, CPWD and Shri Shashi Kant , former Deputy Advisor , Planning Commission and Advisor, CCPS also briefed the press on technical aspects and the risk involved in use of the glass without following safety norms and they stressed urgent need for immediate formulation of conditionality in this respect in building byelaws by the state Govts and local bodies.

According to these experts, internationally use of glass in buildings is regulated strictly. In fact the earliest safety standards were first made mandatory as early as 1972 in the US and subsequently most countries around the world already have strict safety standards governing use of glass in buildings. However in India, not only is the National Building Code 2005 silent on the issue, but byelaws of even the major municipalities in cities New Delhi, Gurgaon, NOIDA, Bangalore, Chennai completely ignore the mushrooming use of glass in their regions.

The first standard on the subject in the country has been developed by CCPS together with Central Public Works Department, Indian Buildings Congress and Consulting Engineers Association of India through PPP mode using consensus method involving approval by experts from Central & State Govt. departments including M/o UD, CPWD, various PWDs, major municipalities and leading architects and engineers, glass manufacturers & processors and other stake holders from across the country and outside.

The recommendations of the Guidelines on Use of Glass in Buildings – Human Safety are based on test standards as outlined by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and conform to the IS 2553 (Part 1): 1990 – Safety Glass – Specification, General Purpose and suggest how to regulate glass in relation to human safety by either, restricting use of glass or specifying use of Safety Glass at critical locations where chances of injury due to glass breakage are high. Consideration for manifestation, fire fighting and smoke exhaust are also included. The guidelines also insist the all safety glasses manufactured in the country are ISI marked to ensure verification of compliance to building byelaws and the consumer is not cheated.

These guidelines have been mandated by CPWD for use in the department and PWD Delhi Government. Beside this, the State of Andhra Pradesh has also mandated that these guidelines be followed when building sanctions are accorded for construction of buildings in the state. Building Byelaws being a state subject, it is important that other states also include the guidelines as part of building byelaws and insist upon safe use of glass in buildings in coming days.

Experts today insist, when it is well known that increasing glass use results in substantial rise of injuries, it is primitive and unfair to wait until enough number of people have lost their lives, or sacrificed their limbs before taking corrective action. Now with the availability of these Guidelines the officials, architects, engineers and even users in the country have no excuse to continue using glass without any concern for human safety.