Delhi LG orders crackdown on unauthorised construction

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Thursday chaired a high-level review of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and directed officials to come up with a comprehensive plan to target, halt, and dismantle unauthorised constructions across the capital. The directives were issued a day after a hotel fire in Malviya Nagar killed 21 people and exposed how extensively buildings in the city have been expanded and modified without permission or inspection.

The LG directed MCD to implement a time-bound strategy to tackle unauthorised constructions decisively. “He asked for a regulatory framework that ensures strict enforcement of building bylaws, penalising illegal constructions and expansions, and fixes absolute institutional accountability across all municipal zones,” an official said. Local engineers, technical staff, and municipal oversight officers will be directly held accountable for any undetected illegal modifications or unauthorised construction within their jurisdictions, the official added.

Sandhu also directed the corporation to identify, process, and act against illegal residential and commercial vertical expansions that violate approved building blueprints or standard safety codes. A high-intensity drive has been mandated for complete detection and sealing or demolition of all ongoing and existing unauthorised constructions within a strict timeframe. The LG’s directions are directly linked to the Malviya Nagar fire of Wednesday, in which 21 people died at a bed-and-breakfast facility that had been operating 25 rooms against a permitted six, with additional floors built without informing authorities and without any valid fire safety clearance.

The MCD meeting also addressed other infrastructure issues, including desilting of stormwater drains ahead of the monsoon, road and pavement repairs for dust mitigation, and intensified garbage clearance to strengthen sanitation.

On the enforcement front, the MCD has moved quickly. The corporation will write to the Tourism Department seeking cancellation of licences for 12 bed-and-breakfast facilities identified as operating in violation of norms in and

around the Hauz Rani locality where the fire occurred. Once the licences are revoked, the properties will be sealed.

“We have identified 12 such buildings operating in violation of norms. Since they have got licences under the bed-and-breakfast scheme, first we will get those licences cancelled. Once the licences are revoked, we will be able to seal them,” a senior MCD official told. The official did not confirm whether the 12 properties include those linked to the owner of Flourish Stay. The owner, Lavkesh Bajaj, was arrested in connection with the fire on Wednesday evening. Locals said he allegedly operated two other properties in the area under the names Flourish Inn and Green Residency.

In South Delhi’s Saket area, where a multi-storey building collapsed on May 30, killing six people, the MCD has identified 32 additional properties in violation of norms. Fresh notices to vacate will be issued to these properties by Friday. Properties will be sealed after the 72-hour notice period. Previously, eight notices had been issued.

Flourish Stay was located in Hauz Rani village within the Lal Dora area. The building was rebuilt around 2012 to 2013 and did not have a sanctioned building plan or approved layout.

The locality has grown into a dense cluster of guest houses and B&B establishments over the years because of its proximity to a major private hospital that draws patients from across India and abroad. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.