The Times of India 18.11.2010
Civic body yet to form structural engineers’ panel
NEW DELHI: Municipal Corporation of Delhi makes false promises every time there is a building collapse in Delhi. After a house collapse in Brahmpuri area on July 14 this year, MCD commissioner K S Mehra had announced setting up a panel of structural engineers who would be able to carry out a proper inspection of buildings to avoid more house collapses in the city. Just five months later, on Monday night, Delhi saw the worst house collapse in recent times.
The promise of constituting a panel still remains unfulfilled. According to MCD, it is in the process of notifying the panel of structural engineers. “We had issued an advertisement for setting up the panel of structural engineers but only 25 people came forward. There is a shortage of qualified structural engineers in the city. We need hundreds of structural engineers to conduct a proper survey of properties. The structural engineers who have now come forward will be evaluated by an external committee of experts,” said an MCD official.
Darshita Aggarwal of Asaf Ali Road Property Owners Association, who had also filed an RTI asking MCD if the panel of structural engineers had been constituted, claims that the MCD commissioner is responsible for the tragedy at Lalita Park. “After the house collapse in Brahmpuri, preventive action of forming a panel of structural engineers should have been taken by MCD. The MCD commissioner failed to implement his own plan and should be held responsible for the tragedy at Lalita Park.”
Aggarwal claims that there are several tragedies waiting to happen. “I know of another unsafe building in Shahdara and have brought it to the notice of MCD but it has done nothing about that. There are several more similar structures at Asaf Ali Road, which are old and unsafe.” MCD has not conducted a proper survey of dangerous buildings in the city since 2007-2008. The usual excuse of staff shortage is offered by the agency for not being able to carry out the survey. MCD’s present method of carrying out such a survey essentially entails identifying if the building has developed cracks on the outside.
In fact, MCD claims that in Shahdara (south) zone — where Lalita Park is located — there is not a single dangerous building.
The promise of constituting a panel still remains unfulfilled. According to MCD, it is in the process of notifying the panel of structural engineers. “We had issued an advertisement for setting up the panel of structural engineers but only 25 people came forward. There is a shortage of qualified structural engineers in the city. We need hundreds of structural engineers to conduct a proper survey of properties. The structural engineers who have now come forward will be evaluated by an external committee of experts,” said an MCD official.
Darshita Aggarwal of Asaf Ali Road Property Owners Association, who had also filed an RTI asking MCD if the panel of structural engineers had been constituted, claims that the MCD commissioner is responsible for the tragedy at Lalita Park. “After the house collapse in Brahmpuri, preventive action of forming a panel of structural engineers should have been taken by MCD. The MCD commissioner failed to implement his own plan and should be held responsible for the tragedy at Lalita Park.”
Aggarwal claims that there are several tragedies waiting to happen. “I know of another unsafe building in Shahdara and have brought it to the notice of MCD but it has done nothing about that. There are several more similar structures at Asaf Ali Road, which are old and unsafe.” MCD has not conducted a proper survey of dangerous buildings in the city since 2007-2008. The usual excuse of staff shortage is offered by the agency for not being able to carry out the survey. MCD’s present method of carrying out such a survey essentially entails identifying if the building has developed cracks on the outside.
In fact, MCD claims that in Shahdara (south) zone — where Lalita Park is located — there is not a single dangerous building.
