Too Little, Too Late? An Investigation of Building Code Enforcement in Pakistan: A case of Quetta city Balochistan

Abstract

The capital city of Balochistan province, Quetta is surrounded by mountain ranges with many active seismic faults. Earthquakes remain among the deadliest natural hazards, causing massive human, financial and infrastructural losses in countries with poor compliance and implementation of building regulations. Even for those countries with de jure engineering requirements, enforcing them in nations like Pakistan remains a challenge. The aim of this paper is to investigate the status of and factors influencing the implementation of building codes in the Quetta city. We collected data through informant interviews from the key actors working in the fields of building constriction, building code implementation and disaster management. The results reveal that Quetta city does not have any independent building regularity authority and the existing codes have become obsolete despite high levels of seismic activity. The results further reveal that corruption, a highly bureaucratic governance system, lack of education/awareness, political interference and political will negatively affect the implementation and enforcement of building codes. The article suggests that Quetta and other earthquake prone cities establish a building regularity authority to help manage risks along with undertaking non-structural measures such as public awareness and preparedness for future earthquake events.

Key-Words:      Earthquake, Building Codes, Corruption, Balochistan