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Municipal Roles Regulating Mountain Cutting & Excavation Works under Roads
Within its pursuit to safeguard the environment and preserve the urban character of Muscat governorate, especially all that addresses mountain cutting and excavation works under roads in Muscat, Muscat Municipality issued the regulation (212/2017) organising the licences of mountain cutting and excavations works under the road.
The regulation 212/2017 stipulates that it is not permissible to cut a mountain or to carry out digging works under the road except after obtaining a licence from the municipality in accordance with the provisions of this regulation.
Types and conditions of licences:
The municipality reaffirms the importance of making protections from falling rocks and landslides, to be carried out by an approved contractor, under a supervision of an accredited consultant, in accordance with the licence issued by the Municipality. The municipality shall examine the application with all the required documents, and decides upon it within a period of (30) thirty days from the date of submission. The request will be considered as rejected If the said period passed without a reply from the municipality.
The regulation prohibits cutting off mountains or excavation works under the road between sunset and sunrise, and from Friday until Saturday`s midday, only after obtaining a prior approval from the municipality, and providing a bank guarantee amount, for period of (2) two years with a minimum of (2000 ) two thousand Omani rials according to the type of cut, and its length, and a letter of pledge from one of the road contractors registered in Muscat Municipality proving that cutting works on the asphalted street and rehabilitating it will be carried out by them if asphalt roads are cut off.
An application for a licence to cut a mountain or to carry out excavation works under the road shall be made to the municipality, in accordance with the approved form. The contractor is obliged to provide a certified bank guarantee to the municipality, for a period of (2) years and an amount of (30,000) thirty thousand Omani rials in case of making a spiral digging under a main dual carriageway of two lanes, and (7.500) seven thousand and five hundred Omani rials is added per each extra lane. The consultant is obliged to submit a request to the Municipality to resolve the situation in the event of a collapse or slippage that harms the buildings that surround the project within a maximum period of (10) ten days from the date of the collapse or slippage. The Contractor is obliged to undertake the treatment within a period not exceeding (1) one month from the date of the municipality`s approval to the application.
Since this type of excavation causes accumulation of debris, Muscat Municipality has required a receipt from the landfill confirming disposal of waste when requesting the refund of the insurance amount, with a certificate of work completion from the municipality, and a letter from the authority supervising the project that it has supervised the work, and it was implemented according to the necessary procedures. The consultant and the contractor, depending on the circumstances, shall be liable for any incident caused by the work implemented, and for the civil solidarity for the damages that may occur to individuals, public and private properties during the implementation of the project.
The regulation stated; “anyone who violates the provisions of this regulation shall be penalised with the following administrative penalties: an administrative fine with an amount of (2,500) two thousand and five hundred Omani rials in case of cutting the mountain or carrying out excavation works under the road without a licence. An administrative fine of (500) five hundred Omani rials if any other provisions are violated, and the violator shall be granted a period of (10) ten days to remove the reasons of the violation. If the violation is not corrected within the said period, the licence shall be considered revoked. Without prejudice to the penalty legally prescribed.
In conclusion, the municipal role in Muscat has an environmental and planning significance that is to balance the need of society for urban expansion with the preservation of local environment, which has become the subject of wide attention at the regional and international levels.
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