New Delhi: A day after the tragedy in Satya Niketan, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Monday launched a crackdown against unsafe structures.
The properties include five in Said-ul-Ajaib and one in Maidangarhi. It issued show-cause notices to five buildings and a demolition notice to one in south zone.
On Sunday, the civic body served vacation notices on several properties around the site of the collapsed building, directing occupants to vacate them under Section 348 of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, with a warning that they were dangerous to residents and those passing by. Among the buildings served with vacation notices were numbers 81, 82, 15 and 13. The action came after building number 14 collapsed Sunday, with the incident raising questions over the structural safety of buildings in densely populated neighbourhoods of Delhi where alterations to constructions are common. All junior engineers of the building department in the corporation’s 12 zones have been directed to conduct the exercise. Officials have been asked to ensure compliance with precautionary measures prescribed under UBBL-2016 (amended) and MPD-2021 or MPD-2047, and conduct fresh field inspections. This year, MCD building department surveyed more than 30 lakh houses in Delhi till June-end, but declared only 51 structures dangerous. Under Section 348, a building found dangerous is identified as such, following which a vacation notice is served under Section 349. A building that collapsed in Said-ul-Ajaib on May 30, claiming six lives, had not been officially declared dangerous before the incident, despite allegations that local police earlier flagged to MCD unauthorised vertical construction and illegal additions.
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Sandhu also said that Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) control room, along with emergency contact numbers, be made immediately operational to deal with any disaster. “The urban development minister was directed to head a committee to review institutional PG guidelines, explore alternative accommodation through universities, MCD and DDA, and assess the feasibility of using vacant and unutilised buildings owned by the two agencies for student housing,” said officials. “Action as prescribed under DMC Act shall be initiated immediately,” it stated. Officials said the survey is based on visual inspections and complaints received by the corporation. However, buildings in Satya Niketan, Hauz Rani and Said-ul-Ajaib where a series of fatal incidents involving fires and structural collapses took place in the past had not been declared dangerous during earlier surveys, raising questions over the effectiveness of the inspection mechanism.
Demolition action against the last one is likely Tuesday. The collapse also prompted a meeting between LG T S Sandhu and CM Rekha Gupta Monday to discuss safety and accommodation of students staying in paying guest (PG) facilities across the city. LG stressed that the issue required both immediate and long-term measures. Delhi chief secretary was directed to ensure that structural audits of buildings in major PG hubs are completed within a week. At the same time, Sandhu cautioned authorities against indiscriminate sealing drives, saying such action could leave students homeless. He directed officials to inspect premises being used as PG accommodations, particularly those prima facie violating prescribed height and floor restrictions. A committee set up in June and comprising the district magistrate, deputy commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of MCD was asked to proactively reach out to students living in PGs, hear their grievances and address their concerns. A comprehensive database of students living in PG accommodations will be prepared. Meanwhile, MCD has ordered a fresh survey of dangerous buildings in unauthorised colonies. The order noted that unauthorised colonies are part of the civic body’s pre-monsoon safety survey and directed officials to identify buildings that have outlived their structural life or are in a dilapidated condition. The corporation also directed junior engineers to ensure that owners and builders carry out construction strictly within sanctioned building plans. The civic body’s latest action has also brought its pre-monsoon inspection exercise under scrutiny. Demolition is subsequently carried out either by the owner or MCD at the owner’s cost. Download the TOI App.