If builders are going to bribe their way through building permits and completion certificates, it is irrational to obey some rules and disobey the rest. Build as you please, and pay off the authorities. To build and keep roofs over our heads, we need to rid them of regulations, not load them with more. Expansion of the housing market requires reduction in our well-intentioned laws concerning town planning, land acquisition and holdings, rentals, etc. These myriad constraints must be rationalised to lower the cost of housing, especially for the people at the bottom of the economic ladder.
Earthquake is nature s reminder to think afresh.
Let s not chant old mantras of more laws and regulations. Let s rebuild not just buildings but our understanding of ideas necessary to build them and keep them up. Copyright 2000 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.