Council of Architecture wants CMDA to follow competition rules

CHENNAI: As the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has announced a competition among architects to prepare designs for lakefront and waterfront development projects, the Council of Architecture (CA) has urged the government to conduct the event as per the council norms.

In a letter to State Chief Secretary, the council, which is a statutory body under Union government, pointed out that rules from Architects (Professional Conduct) Regulations 1989 prevent an architect from preparing designs in competition with other architects for a client without payment or for a reduced fee. The Council has prescribed a scale of charges based on the type of project or services and scope of work.

The letter noted that the planning authority has advertised that it was conducting a design competition and on the other, it was inviting lowest quotations from architects. Further, CMDA has also asked registration fee of Rs 5,000 and allowed foreign architects to participate, “which requires approval of Central Government in terms of proviso (b) of section 37 (1) of the Act. Thus, the entire process of competition is not as per the norms prescribed by Council under section 22 of the Architects Act, 1972.”

The Council has prescribed a Manual for Architectural Services which lays down various methods for appointment of Architects including conduct of design competition and scale of fees and deliverables, the council said. It also urged the state government to advise CMDA to conduct the competition by adhering to the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972.

On March 17, the planning authority issued a notification to conduct the contest to design waterfront facilities at 10 lakes.