A plea is expected to be mentioned before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking an urgent expansion of the court-monitored exercise against illegal constructions and unauthorised change of land use in Delhi, following the death of seven people in the collapse of an illegally constructed building used as a student PG in Satya Niketan.
On Monday, the Delhi high court directed the MCD to inspect, within a week, all PG hostels under its jurisdiction and report whether the buildings housing them were constructed with requisite permissions and whether there had been violations of those permissions or building by-laws. Satya Niketan was not covered by that exercise, even though the locality has emerged as a major student accommodation hub near Delhi University’s South Campus, with PGs, hostels, messes, eateries and other commercial establishments. The precise cause of the collapse remains under investigation. The report points out that the Supreme Court in March took note of what it described as widespread and blatant violations of building by-laws and land-use regulations, including construction in prohibited areas and subsequent use of buildings for purposes other than those for which sanction was granted. The high court directed the MCD to disclose whether statutory or executive regulations exist for regulating PG hostels in Delhi. It ordered an inquiry, at the highest executive level, into whether the building that collapsed at Satya Niketan was constructed with valid permissions. If violations are found, the MCD has been directed to fix responsibility on the officials or employees responsible for the lapse and indicate what action has been proposed against them. The amicus has asked the Supreme Court to consider the developments arising from the Satya Niketan collapse and issue such further directions as it considers appropriate, particularly to ensure that the inspection and safety audit is not confined to a handful of localities but covers vulnerable student accommodation across Delhi.
The amicus has specifically asked the Supreme Court to consider extending its inspection exercise beyond Lajpat Nagar, Saket and Malviya Nagar, which the court identified in its July 9 order. The latest report records that a multi-storeyed building at P-14, Satya Niketan, collapsed on September 6. The property, spread over approximately 55 square yards, comprised a basement and four floors above the ground and was being used as a boys’ PG under the name Hostel Daze. Seven people died, and at least 12 were rescued. That inspection was completed on September 3, and the committee is understood to have found certain buildings in Saidulajab, Saket and Lajpat Nagar to be in precarious and unsafe condition.
The court had said the issue needed to be monitored on a pan-India basis.
Preliminary material indicated construction-related work in or around the basement and reports of waterlogging immediately before the incident. The Supreme Court had ordered earlier inspection of buildings in Lajpat Nagar, Saket and Malviya Nagar after taking note of the larger problem of unauthorised and unsafe constructions in Delhi. Its report is expected to be placed before the Supreme Court shortly.
