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.
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. Dugga was sent to Arunachal Pradesh. 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 bench specifically asked the MCD inquiry to determine whether the building had been constructed with valid and requisite permissions and identify officers responsible for any lapse or failure. The court also turned its attention to the mushrooming of paying guest accommodations in Delhi, particularly those housing students. The court directed the MCD to carry out a comprehensive inspection of all PG accommodations under its jurisdiction within a week and ascertain whether they have the requisite permissions and comply with building bye-laws.
Centre had also shunted out Khirwar’s wife Rinku Dugga, also a 1994 batch officers of the AGMUT cadre, over the matter.
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. 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.
