The house that collapsed in Nehru Vihar area of Seelampur on Saturday was part of unauthorised colony, according to the statement issued by MCD. The colony has buildings rising up five and sixth floors. It is indeed a moot point how such colony with massive unauthorised construction have mushroomed and that too with buildings have grown into fifth and sixth floors.
“It deserves a detailed inquiry as to how and why this has happened. The MCD does not sanction any building plans in such colonies that are unauthorised. As per the report of zonal authorities, the building that collapsed was old. The owners and violators sometimes construct a building and then keep on adding floor after floor without bothering at all about public safety and load bearing capacity. This is highly risky,” MCD said also mentioning that the civic body has decided to survey and take action/seal such high-rise illegal buildings. It said MCD takes strict action against its staff found involved in misconduct. MCD said Junior Engineer Faizan Raza who was posted in the area where building collapsed from March 2019 to August 2021has faced multiple disciplinary proceedings in the past also and has been removed from service. Action has been taken against three more officers who have also been either removed from service or compulsorily retired, it stated.
Junior Engineer (JE) Ravi Kumar Singh was posted in area since November 28, 2024 who has been issued a show-cause notice. Furthermore, the adjacent property No. 17, D1 Street, D-Block, which had already been issued a demolition order on March 25, 2025, will now be demolished at the earliest to prevent any further risk to public safety.
MCD has also identified 15 properties till now in the said area for action and sealing and will continue the survey to identify and seal buildings with five or more floors, as the structural safety of such constructions in densely populated areas is highly questionable, it stated.