MCD razes illegal structures in Laxmi Nagar after Rekha Gupta's bulldozer order
NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi began demolishing illegal structures in Laxmi Nagar and Pandav Nagar on Wednesday, acting on Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's direction to use bulldozers against unauthorised construction across the city.
Gupta ordered the crackdown on Wednesday, days after a five-storey PG building collapsed in Satya Niketan on September 6, killing at least seven people. She directed senior civic officials to remain on the ground during the drive.
"Conduct intensive inspections of all PG hostels in Delhi and take action against illegal construction," the chief minister said, according to the Chief Minister's Office. She also ordered scrutiny of building records to determine when illegal constructions came up and fix responsibility.
An MCD official at the Laxmi Nagar site said the properties being razed were booked for unauthorised construction. "They have plans for a ground floor plus four floors. But they have constructed an extra portion on top. We gave them a notice. Now we are demolishing this building completely," the official said.
Residents alleged selective action. "We are poor people. Our houses had been demolished earlier, and they are demolishing them now as well," resident Ronit Sohan said. He accused builders and civic officials of corruption, saying multi-storey buildings elsewhere in the area had faced no action.
"Everybody is doing illegal construction, but action is only taken against us," another resident, Sunita, said.
Enforcement has scaled up since the Satya Niketan collapse. Civic body data updated till Tuesday shows demolition action against 24 properties and sealing of seven illegal structures. Between June 1 and September 8, the MCD demolished 1,007 properties and sealed 471 others. It issued 3,018 show-cause notices in that period, according to the data.
The collapse has also brought administrative accountability. Five MCD engineers, including the deputy commissioner of the South Zone, have been suspended. The operator of the collapsed PG building has been arrested. Police are probing the lease agreement and recent repair work at the site.
Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has directed that structural audits of all buildings in PG hubs be completed within a week. Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi has ordered the sealing of illegal constructions above four storeys, and municipal engineers across all zones must submit inspection reports by Wednesday.
The crackdown is running alongside judicial scrutiny. The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Centre, the Delhi government and the MCD, calling the availability of student hostels "pathetic". The court has sought responses within 10 days, with the next hearing on September 25.
The Supreme Court will take up the matter on Thursday. A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan indicated it may examine building safety on a pan-India basis and could transfer the High Court proceedings to itself.
(With inputs from PTI)
