From Saket to Satya Niketan, Delhi sees five building collapses this year

Five building collapses have been reported in Delhi this year, claiming 16 lives, including seven in Satya Niketan. Officials cite unauthorised construction, additional floors, ageing structures, inadequate structural assessments, unsafe repair work and monsoon-related damage among common factors behind the incidents

New Delhi: The five-storey building that collapsed in Satya Niketan is the fifth such incident in the city this year. The seven people killed in the congested colony near Delhi University’s South Campus have taken the death toll from such tragedies to 16.

According to official figures and police statements, the 16 deaths have come from three incidents — six in Saket in May, three in Rohini in July and seven in the latest incident on September 6.

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The underlying factors leading to the collapse of all the buildings are common, officials said. These include unregulated and unauthorised construction, additional floors, ageing structures and a lack of structural assessments. Add to the list inadequate precautions during repair work and monsoon-related water damage to foundations, walls and basements, and the picture of negligence is complete.

On May 30, a multi-storey commercial building housing a coaching centre, cafes and offices in south Delhi’s Saket area crumbled like a house of cards. Like in Satya Niketan, most of the six people killed were students. Eight people were injured.

A magisterial inquiry ordered by the Delhi government later held the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) “primarily responsible” for the collapse.

It found that illegal third and fourth floors had been added to the building and that the civic body failed to act on a complaint about the unauthorised construction received more than two months earlier. The inquiry also found that MCD officials created “fabricated” records after the collapse to suggest they had already taken action. The MCD suspended two engineers, while police arrested the building owner and two contractors.

On July 8, a four-storey building under construction collapsed in Rohini’s Sector 16 amid heavy rain, killing three people and burying others under the debris. The MCD said the structure had received sanctioned building plans under the SARAL Scheme, which allows automatic clearance and building permits through a self-verified undertaking submitted by property owners through certified architects or engineers. It said plumbing work involving the cutting of structural beams and columns may have contributed to the collapse.

The other two incidents caused injuries and damage but resulted in no deaths. On June 2, a single-storey house operating as an illegal utensil-colouring factory collapsed in Mukundpur in north Delhi following an LPG cylinder blast. Eleven workers were trapped and injured, one of them critically.

The following day, a four-storey building in northeast Delhi’s Karawal Nagar gave way after cracks appeared during repair work on a drain nearby. Fortunately, all residents had been evacuated beforehand.

After the Satya Niketan collapse, the MCD suspended five officials. The civic body also directed its executive engineers (building) across all zones to inspect structures under their jurisdiction and submit comprehensive reports by September 10.

The order also states that additional commissioners in each zone will personally monitor and supervise the inspections and submission of reports.