Fire NOC, building plan: Checklist part of MCD crackdown after Satya Niketan crash

During a massive sealing operation in Chandni Chowk's Kucha Mahajani in New Delhi. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

Is the building plan sanctioned? How many occupants live in the building? Is the structure constructed in compliance with the Master Plan of Delhi? Are fire safety guidelines being followed? These are among the questions that are being asked as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) continues to hold a citywide survey of paying guest (PG) accommodations amid a crackdown on illegal constructions. The survey comes in the wake of the building collapse in Southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan on September 6, which claimed seven lives. More than 1,000 such buildings have been surveyed so far across the Capital.

As the Satya Niketan incident yet again raised questions over the mushrooming of illegal constructions in the city, the civic body, which is responsible for ensuring on-ground checks, on September 7 suspended five of its officials from the South Zone where the PG accommodation that gave way was located. These included the Deputy Commissioner of the area.

The same day, as the Delhi High Court pulled up the civic body, MCD’s senior officials instructed the Executive Engineers of all zones to conduct a survey of every PG in their area.

In Satya Niketan, the civic body issued vacation notices for several properties surrounding the collapse site, citing “ruinous/dangerous” conditions. It is dangerous to occupy the building or pass by the structure, the notice warned.

“We have asked the officers on the ground surveying the PGs to inspect every detail of the accommodation, which includes the number of floors, the number of occupants, and whether the building plan is sanctioned or not,” an officer said.

The Junior engineers — who are the field officers on the ground and are surveying multiple wards — have been asked to check if the building has occupation and structural stability certificates, and an no-objectional certificate (NOC) from the Delhi Fire Service. Officials are also checking if any previous violations were reported against the structures in the past.

The officer added, “We are also assessing compliance with the Master Plan of Delhi and if conversion charges are paid according to it.”

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While the survey is still on, the officers said that they had till September 10, surveyed around 1,350 buildings. Of these, three located in the South Zone were found to be visibly dangerous, where 69 people were staying.

Concerns were raised by students and residents earlier that if such checks had been conducted earlier, several lives could have been saved.

The civic body has separately identified 90 framed structures above ‘ground plus four’ floors for close monitoring as they may be vulnerable, the highest 62 located in Shahdara South. “The vulnerability of these buildings will be further ascertained,” a senior official added.

The survey also identified 39 buildings that are in need of visible minor repairs, housing 664 occupants; and nine buildings in need of visible major repairs, housing 140 people. Of these nine buildings, five are located in Keshavpuram Zone, followed by two each in Najafgarh and South Zone, said officials.

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The civic body had also carried out demolition and served sealing notices in various parts of the city, including Chandni Chowk in City S.P Zone; Laxmi Nagar in Shahdara South Zone; Bijwasan in South West Zone; and Nehru Vihar, Gandhi Vihar in the North Zone.