Delhi Building Collapse: Five Civic Officials Suspended After Seven Die in Satya Niketan
Five Delhi civic officials were suspended after a building collapse in Satya Niketan killed seven. The owner has been arrested, and an adjacent weakened structure faces demolition.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has suspended five officials following the collapse of a five-storey building in the Satya Niketan area of south-west Delhi, which claimed seven lives and left several others injured over the weekend.
The suspended officials include Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner (South Zone); Superintending Engineer Ranvir Singh; Executive Engineer (Building) Lalit Kumar Goel; Assistant Engineer (Building) Sunil Chauhan; and Junior Engineer (Building) Ashish Kumar. The suspensions, effective immediately, were ordered by the MCD Commissioner under Regulation 5(2) of the DMC Services (Control and Appeal) Regulations, 1959.
Satya Niketan is a densely populated locality housing hundreds of university students in crowded accommodations. The collapse has raised serious concerns about the structural safety of old and potentially unauthorised buildings in the area.
MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar stated that the building adjacent to the collapsed structure has been weakened and was being strengthened overnight. He indicated that it would be demolished in a controlled manner within the next day or two. Khirwar also noted that demolition orders had been passed for several buildings in the area in August, and that the civic body has been conducting regular inspections. He added that in the last three months, 960 demolitions were carried out, 407 buildings were sealed, and notices were served to 1,500 buildings.
In a related development, Delhi Police arrested the owner of the collapsed building, Hariram Bansal, from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan on Monday afternoon. He had been absconding since the incident.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site on Monday to oversee the second day of search and rescue operations. She announced that the government, in collaboration with the civic body, is formulating a policy that will mandate periodic structural audits and safety certifications for all buildings used for public activities, including paying guest accommodations, nursing homes, and schools. The policy would prohibit such activities in buildings that fail to meet these safety requirements.