Sanjeev Khirwar, the Delhi bureaucrat who was at the centre of a controversy years ago after allegedly getting Delhi’s Thyagaraj Stadium emptied so he could walk his dog, is back in the spotlight – this time over the deadly collapse of a five-storey building in Satya Niketan.
Speaking about the collapse, Khirwar said, “Unfortunately, we have lost seven lives. Hearing a petition seeking a comprehensive investigation into the incident, a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the MCD to conduct an inquiry at the highest executive level, HT earlier reported. “The reported incident is not only unfortunate but it evokes deep concern about inadequate housing facilities in terms of hostel run by the DU/Delhi govt, not so adequate measures by the authorities to run such PG hostels.
His remarks come as the Delhi high court on Monday has questioned not just the role of the property owner but also that of the MCD and other authorities in the collapse. Khirwar, the current Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, has been speaking about the building collapse that has claimed seven lives and triggered questions over unauthorised construction, regulatory failures and the civic body’s role in preventing such disasters. We think the building next to the collapsed building has weakened, and it was strengthened through the night. The responsibility prima facie in our opinion for such mishaps do not lie solely on the owner of PG hostel but the responsibility goes to the university authorities and MCD which is responsible to ensure that every single development in Delhi such as construction of building is carried out as per building bye laws or other regulations regulating such developments. It is not difficult to think that such mishaps are the result of inadequate measure deployed by MCD and other authorities. The court also turned its attention to the mushrooming of paying guest accommodations in Delhi, particularly those housing students.
We will take it up for demolition in a calibrated manner in the next 1-2 days.
The court said the incident was “unfortunate” and could have been avoided had the authorities been alive to their statutory duties. Had the authorities been alive to the duties casted on them statutorily, this could have been avoided,” the court said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in January this year appointed Khirwar as the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He is a 1994-batch Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
