Yet another building collapse in the national capital has claimed two lives, this time in northeast Delhi’s Harsh Vihar, where an under-construction building collapsed on Sunday, raising concerns about rampant illegal construction in the city.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said the collapse occurred on the night of October 23 at Khasra No. 2/17, near Seva Dham Road in Mandoli Extension. Ankush Narang, the leader of the opposition, said that the collapse of a lintel and parapet due to illegal construction in Harsh Vihar, Delhi, resulting in the deaths of two people, is extremely tragic and raises serious questions about the functioning of MCD.
Both Mandoli Extension and Harsh Vihar are listed as unauthorised colonies in Delhi. However, this did not permit fresh construction without the requisite approvals from the civic body. “The owner was carrying out work to replace the roof of the rear portion of the first floor with a concrete slab over the existing old brick walls during the long holiday period. “Until when will the common people of Delhi continue to pay the price for illegal construction and administrative negligence under BJP rule with their lives?
Earlier this year, the central government announced that properties in 1,511 unauthorised colonies would be regularised on an “as-is, where-is” basis for built-up structures used for residential purposes, provided they existed on or before April 6. It is further submitted that no complaint regarding the said work had been received at the MCD office before the incident through any source, including the police, the control room or any other source,” the corporation said. The Aam Aadmi Party demands a fair investigation into the matter, strict action against the guilty, and accountability for those who provide protection to illegal construction,” he said. An MCD official said there were three gates providing access to the rear portion of the property, and that the main gate was closed.
The debris reportedly fell onto the ground-floor roof. Therefore, rescue operations commenced after all three gates, including the main gate, were broken open.
“According to the local inquiry, the owner was carrying out the roof replacement work on the first floor with the outer gate closed. No building material was found outside the property during the rescue operations,” the official said. The circumstances of the incident suggest that the rear portion of the first-floor structure collapsed while the owner was replacing the existing T-iron and stone-slab roofing with a reinforced cement concrete (RCC) slab, according to the MCD.
