The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has suspended four engineers of Enforcement Wing of the Building Department for dereliction of duty. They allegedly allowed restobars on terraces to demolish pillars built by the British leading to roof collapse.
NDMC Chairman Naresh Kumar has ordered suspension of Assistant Engineers Rajiv Kumar and Cl Meena, and Executive Engineers Pranav Tripathi and Rajiv Tiwari after a vigilance probe indicted them for dereliction of duty.
According to NDMC laws, terrace or balconies in heritage buildings cannot be used for any kind of commercial activity and no modifications in existing structure is allowed without prior permission of the council.
Director of the Enforcement Wing Neeraj Bharti told The Pioneer, “During the initial stage of enquiry, the council has suspended them. It is yet to be decided what further course of action will be taken against them,” he said.
Within the span of 15 days there were two incidents of roof collapses in CP. First incident was reported on February 2 from the C Block when a roof collapsed. The second incident took place on February 11 when the roof of building near Odeon Cinema came down.
Piyush Jain, a lawyer who had lodged a complaint about the blatant violations in various buildings, alleged that unauthorised construction is going at various properties in Connaught Place. Citing example of illegal construction in CP area, he said that F-7, N-45, N-6, E-44 and 41, F-56 ground floor, H-15, l-1 & 2, D-27, F-39, M-42, 1-C, 5 and 11 Sindhia House, 12 Central lane, 27 Abul Fazal Road, 24 School lane, 29 Babar Road are the places where heritage structure is being disturbed by shop owners. “These engineers were also responsible for the unauthorised digging of basement at Aurangzeb lane,” he said.
The NDMC had also constituted a six-member panel, comprising structural safety experts from IIT-Delhi, CPWD, DMC and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the area to inspect the site and ascertain the reason behind the collapse.
Meanwhile, a delegation of New Delhi Traders’ Association (NDTA) met with NDMC Chairman over the building collapse issue. “The decision on the reopening of restaurants and bars has been put on hold. The Chairman has assured us a fair treatment,” said NDTA general secretary Vinay Behal.