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Delhi tears down unsafe building next to collapse site
The MCD began demolishing an unsafe structure adjoining Delhi’s Satya Niketan building collapse site on September 9, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a plea on nationwide building safety.
Delhi authorities tore down an unsafe building adjoining the Satya Niketan collapse site on Tuesday, part of the fallout from a collapse that killed seven people on September 6.
The MCD’s demolition order for the adjoining property, P-13 Satya Niketan, cited Section 348 read with Section 491 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
The owner of the collapsed building has been arrested, five MCD officials suspended, and a contractor also held.
The National Human Rights Commission issued notices to the Delhi government and the University Grants Commission on September 8 over the collapse.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea on September 10 seeking a nationwide investigation into unsafe buildings, including a time-bound safety audit of hostels and PG accommodations near Delhi colleges.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had earlier ordered a case against the collapsed building’s owner and a magisterial inquiry into the circumstances of the collapse.
Satya Niketan is a densely packed neighbourhood near Delhi University’s South Campus, home to a large number of paying-guest accommodations and student hostels.
The Supreme Court’s scheduled hearing is expected to consider whether a nationwide investigation into unsafe buildings, particularly those used as student housing, is warranted.
Structural safety violations in PG and hostel buildings have been a recurring concern in Delhi, with authorities periodically ordering inspections after individual incidents rather than systematic citywide audits.
The five suspended MCD officials are expected to face a separate departmental inquiry into how the adjoining unsafe structure went unflagged prior to the collapse.
The Satya Niketan building collapse on September 6 killed seven people, with rescue operations by NDRF and Delhi Fire Services continuing through the following days.
The demolition order for the adjoining property, P-13 Satya Niketan, was issued on September 6 under Section 348 read with Section 491 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
MCD Civic Centre, New Delhi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0