Participating as chief guest at a conference on ‘Architecture, built environment and urban planning’ organised by the city-based International Multidisciplinary Research Foundation (IMRF) here on Friday, Mr. Benninger said architecture was an art which could not be ignored if ‘growth was to be civilised’ and it has to be integrated into the planning processes 1 from the beginning, lest the need for rehashing things, which entails huge expenditure, should arise at late stages. 

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• 1. In an exclusive interview to The Hindu on the sidelines of a workshop on urban planning here on Friday, Mr. Benninger said the local bodies have been regularising illegal constructions on payment of stipulated fee because the violations earned money both for the municipal corporations/municipalities and the corrupt elements. This has become a sort of vicious cycle, and the consequences for future generations would be very serious. He insisted that people should fight against the encroachment of open spaces and follow the rules that govern an entire range of constructions. 

  “Public bodies are not respecting the citizens, who do not question when something goes wrong, that is a crisis which cannot be taken lightly,” he observed.

  Source: The Hindu