MCD issues demolition notices for dangerous buildings after Satya Niketan collapse

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has begun issuing demolition notices for dangerous buildings beside the Satya Niketan property where a five-storey paying guest building collapsed, killing at least seven people. Rescue teams were still working at the site when officials said the neighbouring structures would be dealt with after the operation ended.

One building, numbered 13, had been evacuated and was being supported with iron jacks. “The building number 13 is barely standing,” a senior MCD official said. “The demolition drive will be carried out once the rescue operation is over. There are three more such buildings in the area. Such structures are being identified to prevent any further damage.”

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The building number 13 is barely standing.

The notice, issued under Section 348 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, gives the owner or occupier three days to demolish the property. It says the structure is dangerous to people using or passing the site and warns that the MCD will carry out the demolition and recover the charges if the order is ignored.

The collapsed property, identified as number 14, stood on about 55 square yards in a resettlement colony and housed Delhi University students. The MCD said the five-storey building was constructed in the 1990s, but acknowledged that its field teams had failed to explain why unauthorised construction work was not stopped. Investigators identified the owner as Gurugram resident Hariram Bansal. Police registered a case under provisions covering culpable homicide not amounting to murder, negligent building work and acts endangering life or personal safety.

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The demolition drive will be carried out once the rescue operation is over. There are three more such buildings in the area. Such structures are being identified to prevent any further damage.