Delhi cracks down on illegal buildings

Five MCD officials have been suspended as investigators probe what triggered the building collapse

A day after the building collapse in South Delhi’s Satya Niketan, the Delhi Government on Monday launched a crackdown, ordering the immediate sealing of all illegal five-storey buildings, while the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended five officials, including South Zone Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kumar, for alleged lapses. Following an on-site inspection and initial assessment, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

The other suspended officials include Superintending Engineer Ranvir Singh, Executive Engineer (Building) Lalit Kumar Goel, Assistant Engineer (Building) Sunil Chauhan and Junior Engineer (Building) Ashish Kumar of the South Zone.

“All illegal constructions with more than four floors will be immediately sealed, and strict action will be taken against the guilty officials, leading to their immediate dismissal,” read a notice issued by the MCD on Monday. “These orders will be implemented with immediate effect.”

The suspension orders were issued by Deputy Law Officer (Vigilance) Nand Kishore of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Vigilance Department on the directions of the civic body’s commissioner. The officials have been placed under suspension with immediate effect. They will be entitled to subsistence allowance as admissible under the rules.

MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar said a magisterial inquiry will shed more light on the immediate cause behind the collapse. “Whether work was being done in the basement will be ascertained after magisterial enquiry,” Khirwar said.

An MCD survey in June identified only 19 buildings as dangerous among nearly 28 lakh structures inspected. According to an MCD statement, the building that collapsed on Sunday was constructed in the 1990s on a plot of around 55 square yards in a resettlement colony, and consisted of a basement and ground to the fourth floor.

However, some locals claimed that the building was nearly 50 years old and was built in the 1970s. Officials said that permission had originally been granted only for a ground-plus-one structure in these resettlement colonies.

The civic body said that the structure had no sanctioned building plan, nor was any complaint against it received. Officials said the area had been developed as a resettlement colony in the 1970s, with small plots allotted to residents.

The CM said the inquiry was under way and added that if negligence by any other officers emerged during the investigation, action would be taken against them as well. The CM said that according to the initial information, the pillars of the old building had weakened and collapsed after water accumulated in its basement, resulting in the entire building collapsing.

“Approximately 80 per cent of the debris has been cleared, with only the basement debris remaining. Water had accumulated in the basement, and the combination of this with ongoing repair work on the old structure led to the collapse,” she said.

The CM said the injured students are receiving proper medical treatment and their parents are receiving updates about them. “The situation is being closely monitored by Health Minister JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and the prime minister,” she added.

The chief minister also said that the building adjacent to the one collapsed will be demolished. “Residents of the collapsed building and adjacent unsafe buildings have been evacuated. The standing building, which appears extremely dangerous, will be demolished once the debris is cleared,” she said. A structural audit will be conducted of all such buildings, and strict action will follow, she said.