Basement flood deaths: Probe finds fault with RAU’s IAS Study Circle

Says the building, being used for "educational purpose", had permission for "office/business" use for which a fire NOC was not needed

New Delhi: A magisterial probe into the deaths of three civil services aspirants in the flooding of a Delhi coaching centre building basement has indicated mala fide violations of several laws by the MCD and the Fire Department.

The report submitted to the Revenue Minister on Wednesday said, “(the) owners and management of RAU’s IAS Study Circle were also responsible for the criminal negligence by indulging in dangerous misuse of basement without regard to the lives of the students.”

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Three civil services aspirants died on July 27 after the basement of a building housing the coaching centre was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area. The report revealed that the “violation of rules” in the building were noticed before by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Fire Department but they took no action.

The probe conducted by the district magistrate (central) revealed that the building where the coaching centre was being operated from had permission for “office/business” use, for which a fire NOC (no-objection certificate) was not needed.

However, it did require the Fire Department’s NOC as it was being used for “educational purpose” and was more than nine metres high, the report said. On August 4, 2023, after a fire incident at a coaching institute in Mukherjee Nagar, the MCD had issued a notice citing “misuse” of property.

“The failure to seal the basement after the issue of misuse notice and not even mentioning the same in the showcause notice and misleading the deputy commissioner of the factual field position of misuse appears to be deliberate misconduct with malafide intentions on the part of the concerned engineers of the building department of MCD,” the report said.

The Fire Department also failed to refer to the “misuse” of the building’s basement as a library to the MCD during an inspection on July 1 this year, it said. “The Fire Department should not have granted a fire safety certificate dated 9.7.2024 concealing the misuse of the basement as a library in violation of the building by-laws provisions of MPD-2021. This is a serious lapse on the part of the fire services inspection team,” the report noted.

It also blamed the MCD officials of encroachment on stormwater drains and lack of desilting. It said the drains in the area had not been desilted for five years despite being prone to waterlogging due to their low-lying location.

A magisterial probe into the incident was ordered by the Delhi government’s revenue minister and a preliminary report in the matter was submitted on July 29. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the incident on a Delhi High Court order.

The probe recorded statements of 15 people, including students and officials of various departments. The report accused the MCD of “passing the buck” and “shrugging off their responsibility” to cover its failure in the desilting of the drains on both sides of the road where the building was located. The report recommended a detailed inquiry by the MCD to identify the people responsible and stern action against them.