The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it demolished 543 properties, sealed 178, issued show-cause notices to 354 properties for unauthorised construction, served sealing notices on 205 properties, and passed 98 demolition orders in 17 days since the Satya Niketan building collapse.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the MCD, submitted before a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia that the matter was taken up at the highest executive level immediately after the incident. The police also stated that the accused left the site after the incident, instead of taking responsibility and assisting in the immediate aftermath. A five-storey building in Satya Niketan, which housed a paying guest accommodation known as Hostel Daze for Delhi University students, collapsed on September 6, killing at least seven people and injuring five others. Renovation work was under way on the ground floor when the structure collapsed around 1.30pm, according to police. The building was estimated to be 40-50 years old. On September 7, the court asked Delhi Police, MCD and DU to respond to the petition, and asked the MCD to conduct an inquiry at the highest executive level into the collapse, as well as an inspection in a week. In an affidavit filed on September 21, the Delhi Police stated that six persons arrested in connection with the Satya Niketan building collapse, including the building owner, her husband and son, two operators and a contractor, failed to take adequate safety precautions during construction work carried out in and around the premises.
The law officer said that the action was not limited to field-level officials, and that five officers across the supervisory chain were also suspended.
The submission was made in a petition filed by Aniket Kumar Gupta, who sought directions for a fair and comprehensive investigation into the collapse, including an examination of the roles of the owner, contractor, builder, architect, structural engineer and workers.
