AA Edit | Delhi Horror: Court Must Step In
The 50-foot-tall building was constructed on a 55-square-yard plot without an adequate foundation to keep the structure stable. Yet, local officials ignored the violations, permitting students to live in precarious conditions
The collapse of a five-storey building in Delhi, in which seven persons, mostly students, have died, is a testament to corruption and inefficiency in the city administration, which allowed people to flout safe construction rules to earn a few thousand rupees more.
The 50-foot-tall building was constructed on a 55-square-yard plot without an adequate foundation to keep the structure stable. Yet, local officials ignored the violations, permitting students to live in precarious conditions.
This is not the only building to have violated the fundamental rules of structural engineering. A seven-storey structure under construction on a 50-square-yard plot collapsed in August. Every year, hundreds of people die in poorly constructed structures built by compromising safety standards to lower construction costs.
According to Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, the accumulation of water, combined with ongoing repair work in the basement, led to the collapse of the building. The water reportedly seeped into the foundation of the 30-year-old building, beneath which the soil was already weak.
The Delhi police arrested owner, Hariram Gupta, who flew to Bhiwadi in Rajasthan after the building collapsed. Officials of the Delhi municipal administration and utilities should not escape culpability for failing to bring the violation to the notice of the town planning department for action.
Though the Delhi government sacked five civic officials, such unfortunate incidents will not stop as long as politicians who head governments ignore the wanton breaking of rules and compromise of safety requirements.
The Delhi high court has issued notices to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi University over the incident, which is a welcome development. However, instead of focusing on this particular incident, the court should formulate rules to ensure that action is taken against officials for allowing such construction and failing to bring such violations to the notice of the town planning department for further action.