99% Delhi PGs do not have fire NOC, no layout approval for nearly 30%: MCD survey

MCD crackdown against illegal demolitions is still on. (Express photo)

A week after the collapse of a five-storey boys hostel in Satya Niketan claimed seven lives, a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) survey of 2,453 paying guest (PG) accommodations across the Capital has revealed stark compliance gaps.

Only 31 or 1.2% of such buildings have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), according to the details collected so far. The building plans for only 726 PG buildings — which is less than 30% of those surveyed — have been sanctioned. Just eight buildings have a structural stability certificate.

The survey, which covers properties across all 12 MCD zones, was carried out following the Delhi High Court’s rap on September 7, a day after the Satya Niketan building gave way.

The civic body initiated a crackdown against illegal constructions across the city, and flagged off the survey.

Documents for structural stability, occupancy certificate (OCC); and compliance with the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD): these and other regulatory checks were part of the MCD survey.

A five-storey building came crashing down on September 6 in Satya Niketan area.
(Express Photo: Abhinav Saha)

Zone-wise analysis

The Civil Lines Zone — where Delhi University’s North Campus is located — recorded the most number of properties across 12 MCD zones with 608 PG accommodations, as per the survey.

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Of the total buildings, only 364 have sanctioned building plans, only 28 have fire NOCs, 27 have regularisation approvals and none have structural stability certificates.

At 410, Keshav Puram Zone has the second highest number of PG properties across the 12 MCD zone. Only 54 have sanctioned building plans, two have fire NOCs, two have structural stability certificates and none have occupancy certificates.

The South Zone houses many of the prominent universities, including DU’s South Campus, IIT Delhi and JNU.

Of 390 PG properties recorded in the area, none have DFS clearance, structural stability, building-plan sanction or occupancy certificate. None of the properties were recorded as having PG activity permissible under the Master Plan.

Lapses under lens

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The deadline of the survey set by the HC ended on Sunday. But the MCD, which had set its eye on September 10 as the last date of survey, will continue its survey, for at least one more day, before wrapping up, according to officials.

• Among the regulatory norms, the buildings need to have a layout plan sanctioned by the civic body. The proposal for a layout plan, according to the MCD website, should be prepared “strictly in accordance to MPD and building bye-law, rules, regulations and practice of the department and no misinterpretation or inference of provisions of these MPD and unified building bye-laws has been exercised while preparing the plans”.
• An NOC is a formal clearance by the Delhi Fire Service that a building meets the safety requirement as per its occupancy. Presently, the DFS generally issues a Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) after verifying the required measures. The DFS certificate, specifically, carries conditions such as keeping escape, entry and exit routes unobstructed, ensuring occupants and employees know how to evict the building in case of an emergency, and maintaining fire fighting equipment in working condition. At the Satya Niketan building, there was allegedly only one exit for escape.
• The structural stability certificate is meant to establish that a building can safely withstand the loads and stresses associated with its construction and use.
• MCD’s construction-permit system treats OCC as the next stage after the building has been constructed. For the OCC stage, MCD requires completion plans showing all floors actually constructed, along with plot dimensions, area and setbacks, as well as photographs of the completed building and other prescribed documents.
• According to MCD, regularisation is a process through which certain existing unauthorised construction or development is brought into compliance with the applicable rules, subject to the specific regularisation policy and payment of prescribed charges.