The announcement by the Rekha Gupta govt followed the collapse of a building being used as a PG accommodation in Satya Niketan.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s move to formulate a fresh safety policy for paying-guest (PG) accommodation may have followed the Satya Niketan building collapse, but efforts to bring such establishments under a regulatory framework date back over 30 years. However, the history of attempts to regulate PG accommodation in the national capital stretches back to at least 1993, with successive governments and agencies subsequently turning to schemes, surveys, committees and proposals aimed at registration and licensing, according to news agency PTI. In 2000, the government, then headed by Congress leader Sheila Dikshit , cleared its own Paying Guest Residential Accommodation Scheme. The following year, meetings involving the Delhi government’s home department, Delhi Police and civic agencies led to a proposal to bring around 700 private hostels and PGs housing college students under a Delhi Police licensing system. The survey later identified more than 100 PG establishments allegedly operating in violation of building bylaws, according to PTI.
“With a view to provide affordable and hygienic accommodation to foreign and domestic tourists, the central government formulated a scheme as per which residential buildings could be used for providing boarding and lodging to tourists,” the court said. Civic officials said then that there were no specific norms governing the operation of PGs in residential areas and that the corporation did not issue licences for such establishments, although building, land-use and fire-safety regulations remained applicable. Regulatory responsibility for the scheme was later handed over to the Delhi government. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) subsequently ordered another survey.
CM Rekha Gupta said on Monday that the government was preparing a policy requiring owners of older buildings to furnish structural audit reports and certify that their properties are safe before using them to house paying guests, nursing homes, schools or other commercial establishments.