Photo: Nikhil B / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has acted against 1,046 properties for illegal construction or unsafe structures between September 6 and October 10, the Chief Minister’s Office said on Sunday. That works out to roughly 30 properties a day. Of these, 282 were sealed and 47 buildings judged dangerous were pulled down.
The drive was stepped up after a multi-storey building in southeast Delhi’s Satya Niketan caved in on September 6, killing seven people. According to the government, the crackdown is running across all 12 MCD zones on the directions of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
Where the action was concentrated
Rohini zone recorded the most cases, with action against 158 properties. It was followed by the South zone (121) and Shahdara North (115). West, City-Sadar Paharganj and Shahdara South logged 87 each, Karol Bagh 85, Central 75, Civil Lines 63, Narela 62, Keshavpuram 61 and Najafgarh 45.
City-Sadar Paharganj accounted for the largest share of sealings, at 87. Karol Bagh saw the most demolitions, with 13 unsafe buildings brought down, while West, Civil Lines and City-Sadar Paharganj recorded eight each. Several other zones reported one or two demolitions, and none were carried out in Shahdara North or Central, the statement said.
The civic body has also been posting daily figures. On October 8 alone, it said it carried out 21 demolition actions across its zones, sealed four properties and issued four demolition orders over unauthorised construction and violations of building norms.
A second collapse in a month
The push gained urgency after another building came down in the crowded lanes of New Seemapuri in east Delhi on the afternoon of October 7. The government has put the toll at five. Police have confirmed four deaths so far and said DNA tests on remains recovered from the debris could change the count. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against unknown persons, and a magisterial inquiry is under way. The district magistrate has said demolition work with vibrating machines at an adjoining building may have triggered the collapse. As of Friday, police had not traced the building’s owner.
After that collapse, authorities demolished an unsafe building in the area, and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board issued notices to three other houses, the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Why it matters and what comes next
Two deadly collapses within five weeks have raised questions about how buildings in Delhi’s crowded neighbourhoods keep growing taller, and about how closely they are inspected. The figures released on Sunday are the government’s attempt to show that building rules are now being enforced across the city.
Gupta said the campaign against illegal construction and dangerous buildings would continue in every zone and would not be limited to any one locality. She said the aim was to make sure buildings follow the regulations and to cut the risk of accidents. Residents near the Seemapuri site have said extra floors were added to that building over the years. Further sealing and demolition figures are expected as the drive goes on, while the inquiry into the Seemapuri collapse continues.
