The Delhi civic body on Monday suspended five officials after a decades-old five-storey block in south-west Delhi’s Satya Niketan crashed down over the weekend, leaving seven dead and several injured.
The Satya Niketan area is home to hundreds of university students living in crowded accommodation.
Read: The Critical Task That Brought An Unstable Delhi Building Down, Killing 7
The suspended officials are: Rakesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner (South Zone), Superintending Engineer Ranvir Singh, Executive Engineer (Building) Lalit Kumar Goel, Assistant Engineer (Building) Sunil Chauhan and Junior Engineer (Building) Ashish Kumar of the South Zone.
The suspension orders were issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Vigilance Department on the directions of the civic body’s commissioner under the DMC Services (Control and Appeal) Regulations, 1959.
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The officials have been placed under suspension with immediate effect under Regulation 5(2), the orders said.
“Unfortunately, we have lost seven lives. We think the building next to the collapsed building has weakened, and it was strengthened through the night. We will take it up for demolition in a calibrated manner in the next 1-2 days,” MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar said.
Delhi Fire Service officials, and Civil Defence volunteers coordinate debris clearing efforts following builidng collapse in Satya Niketan
“In August, we had passed demolition orders for 3-4 buildings in the same area. A regular identification is conducted. In the last three months, 960 demolitions were carried out, 407 buildings were sealed, and notices were served to 1500 buildings for sealing and demolition. This is a regular process to take action against unauthorised construction,” he added.
Rescue operations continue at the site of the accident.
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Hariram Bansal, the owner of the collapsed Satya Niketan building, who was on the run was arrested Monday afternoon from Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi, the Delhi Police said.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday arrived in Satya Niketan to oversee the second day of search and rescue operations. She said the government, in collaboration with the civic body, is formulating a policy mandating periodic structural audits and safety certifications for all buildings used for public activity — including PGs, nursing homes, schools and other facilities — failing which no such activity will be permitted.
