The National Building Organization (NBO) has organized a library of books, pamphlets, building specifications and schedule of rates, trade literature and journals to disseminate information on new technologies and building construction methodologies. Special efforts have been made to collect technical and research reports. The library has over 8000 books and 35000 trade catalogues and pamphlets. Now the NBO has a major say in the type of materials used in building houses and other high-rise apartments.
In
Kerala Houses
built according to the standards prescribed by the NBO have reported fewer complaints and other problems. The state government has stepped in rarely to make amendments to the specifications prescribed by the NBO. Very rarely has such building designs reported any structural problems.
Consider the well-reported instances of some houses sinking into the ground in parts of Ernakulam, Trivandrum and Thrissur districts. Such a situation has arisen because the house-owners were totally ignorant of the topography of the land. Even when such structures sank into the ground, the building as such never developed any crack or any other structural deformity. It is a testimony to the durability and authenticity of the design specifications specified by the NBO.
In districts like Ernakulam, the common people do have an affinity towards quality. Thus, the rules and standards specified by the NBO have been implemented as such. Even though the catalogue and the rule book that specifies the rules and regulations recommended by the NBO and sold through the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) offices are very costly, the contractors and builders in Kochi never give up on such quality standards and thus the very brand name of a reputed builder is a synonym for quality.
