Satya Niketan building crash : MCD conducts survey of PGs, marks 3 as dangerous

In Chandni Chowk, around 54 illegal shops operating from basements were sealed. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)

After the Delhi High Court pulled up the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over the Satya Niketan student hostel collapse that claimed seven lives, the civic body has surveyed around 1,355 PG buildings across the Capital in the last three days, marking three of them as visibly dangerous.

The three buildings marked dangerous fall under the civic body’s South Zone, housing 69 occupants, the same zone where the building, called Hostel Daze, collapsed on Sunday.

The civic body also suspended three engineers on Thursday for dereliction of duty and negligence in the discharge of their responsibilities regarding action against unauthorised construction.

In an order issued on Monday by the MCD’s Additional Commissioner, officials were asked to survey the buildings and submit comprehensive reports by Thursday. The directive cited the Delhi High Court order, which had pulled up the MCD, stating that responsibility for the Satya Niketan building collapse extends to civic authorities as well.

The survey, which was conducted over three days, 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.

Under the survey, 1,304 buildings housing a total of 26,917 people were marked visibly safe.

According to an official, the survey will still continue.

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Meanwhile, continuing its enforcement action against unauthorised constructions, the MCD on Thursday also demolished 41 properties, sealed 61, and handed over 32 show-cause notices and 3 demolition orders for violations of the Master Plan of Delhi and building bye-laws.

During Thursday’s demolition drive, officials said actions were carried out at several locations, including the Khureji Khas, Jagatpuri, and Laxmi Nagar areas in the East Zone.

In West Zone, demolition action was undertaken at Paschim Puri, Madipur, where one roof panel each from the first to third floors was demolished. In Subhash Nagar, one roof panel was cut down, and the toilet block on the terrace of the fourth floor was completely demolished.

At Som Bazar Road, Vipin Garden, Uttam Nagar, one ground-floor roof panel was demolished, while a property adjacent to Aakash Vihar, Bakkarwala Road, was completely demolished.

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In the Central Zone, enforcement action was also taken against a G+5 building in Madanpur Khadar Extension, where four panels on the fifth floor were cut and the building was subsequently sealed.

In Chandni Chowk, around 54 illegal shops operating from basements were sealed.
The action was taken against illegal commercial activities being carried out in violation of the Delhi Master Plan 2021, including non-compliance with mandatory clearances from the Fire Department and other statutory authorities.

According to officials, the action was undertaken with a view to preventing any untoward incident and safeguarding public safety.

Meanwhile, three engineers working with the MCD’s Building Department were suspended on Thursday. The suspended officials were identified as Ravinder Kumar, Assistant Engineer (AE), Suman Saurabh, Junior Engineer (JE), and Mohit Yadav, JE, of the South West Zone (erstwhile Najafgarh Zone).