MCD says it does not have any documents to prove the existence of the structure that housed more than three hundred people
MCD says it does not have any documents to prove the existence of the structure that housed more than three hundred people
The spotlight is slowly moving away from the scene of the tragedy, searching for the people and agencies responsible. And the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's role is slowly but surely coming into focus. 
Won't give up: Rescue workers search for survivors under the rubble of
the collapsed building on Tuesday. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan
Unfortunately the answers coming out from the ranks of the civic agency are anything but satisfactory. While the builder who constructed the house, overlooking all the norms and building bylaws, is the main culprit, the MCD kept sleeping over the issue for more than 25 years. And it now says it has no records of the building that claimed the lives of 66 inhabitants on Monday evening.
u00a0
As per MCD officials, the multi-storey building at N 85, Lalita Park, was constructed in the year 1982. But it has no documents to prove its existence.
"There are no records with any of the departments in MCD. The building was constructed a long time back. It is really shameful that are still no records," said an MCD official on the condition of anonymity.
The civic agency which claims to have been very active during the Commonwealth Games, has turned a blind eye towards unauthorised constructions all over the city. Lalita Park was regularised in the year 2007, but there is no mechanism with the civic body to look after the buildings and people there.
Apparently, the buildings are categorised either into the categories of 'dangerous' or 'unauthorised' by the civic body. While, the works department looks after the dangerous structures, the building department of the respective zone take cares of the unauthorised buildings. A structure is only considered to be dangerous or unauthorised if there is any prior complaint about it.
The multi-storey building was not listed as dangerous. "We had not received any complaint about this building earlier. As the building was constructed in the unauthorised/ regularised colony, it is now considered an unauthorised building," said a top MCD official on the condition of anonymity as he is not
authorised to speak to the media.
| Playing wit lives |
| According to the data released by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), there are 567 unauthorised/regularised colonies in Delhi. The process of their regularisation started in 1962-63, when 103 such colonies were regularized.u00a0 567 colonies were further regularised in 1977. But, though the colonies were regularised, there is no documentation for these buildings. Even the officials agree on the issue. "We do not cover any activities in the unauthorised colonies. There are no maps for unauthorised colonies and there are no mechanisms to convert these unrecognised buildings," said Deep Mathur, official spokesperson, MCD. |
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
