The Delhi government, in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), is formulating a policy to make periodic structural audits and safety certifications mandatory for buildings used for public activities, including paying guest accommodations, nursing homes and schools, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Monday.
Gupta made the remarks after visiting the site of the Satya Niketan building collapse, which has claimed six lives.
“The government, in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation, is formulating a policy mandating that any building intended for public use—whether a PG, nursing home, school, or any other facility—must undergo periodic structural audits and safety certifications; otherwise, no public activity will be permitted there,” the Chief Minister said.
Gupta said the government would not allow people to live in unsafe paying guest accommodations and was making arrangements for those evacuated from the building.
“We will not allow anyone to reside in unsafe PGs. We have arranged accommodation in college hostels for those evacuated from the building, and the government is ensuring their needs are met,” she said.
She added that the government was in touch with the parents of students affected by the tragedy and was providing them support.
The Chief Minister also warned of strict action against government officials if any lapse in oversight or negligence was found to have contributed to the incident.
“Regarding government officials whose oversight, negligence, or other lapses contributed to this situation, strict action will be taken against them this very day; no one will be spared,” Gupta said.
Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said preliminary information indicated that the building, which was around 40-50 years old, had undergone work in its basement before the collapse.
“The information received so far indicates that while this building was 40-50 years old, attempts were made to carry out work in its basement, which triggered this accident,” Sirsa told reporters.
He said an adjacent structure at the site, also around 40-50 years old, had been evacuated and would be demolished, but it could not be brought down immediately because of concerns over its structural stability and uncertainty about conditions beneath the accumulated debris.
“The adjacent building will definitely be demolished—it has already been evacuated and is slated for demolition. But the challenge right now is that the structure is currently unstable; we do not yet know the condition beneath the accumulated debris, so it cannot be demolished immediately,” he said.
Sirsa said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was continuing rescue and debris-clearing operations at the site, adding that teams faced the challenge of clearing debris without causing further damage to the adjacent structure.
Gupta revisited the site on Monday and held discussions with NDRF officials on the ongoing rescue and search operations.
The MCD on Sunday ordered the demolition of the building at Property No. 13, Satya Niketan, within three days, citing its “ruinous/dangerous condition” and saying it posed a risk to occupants and people in the neighbourhood.
Rescue and search operations at the site remain underway.
(ANI)
