Engineer’s Groups Seek Action Against Architecture

NEW DELHI: Four grouping of professional engineers in the country have sought government intervention against an ” erroneous” interpretation of law by the Council of Architecture (COA), which seeks to prohibit those not registered with it from providing architectural or related consultancy services.

Led by Counsultingj Engineers Association of India(CEAI), these groups have accused the COA and its members of trying to create a  monopoly by illegally barring qualified professionals from providing architectural services.

The engineers’ groups, which also include Indian Association of Structural Engineers, Association of Consulting Civil Engineers(India) and Engineers Council of India, have written to the Corporate Affairs Ministry, the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Ministry of Human Resourse Development in this regard.

The move follows a public notice issued by the COA, wherein it had stated that any entity not registered with it as an Architect or a Firm of Architects cannot use the title and style of ‘Architect’ for practising this profession.

It also said that any foreign Architect or Consultant, which was not registered with COA, cannot be appointed for architectural works without following the prescribed procedure.

Reacting to this public notice, the engineers’ bodies said in a statement that the assertions made by the COA were misleading and “an erroneous interpretation of the Architects Act, 1972″.

They said that the Act was “enacted merely to provide for registration of architects and for matters connected therewith by those who wished to use the title and style of architect”.