The Times of India           07.12.2010

MCD house collapse report stuck

NEW DELHI: Three weeks have passed since the Lalita Park building collapse, but the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is yet to submit its internal report on the incident.

This, despite claims by the MCD's political brass that they had directed officials to submit the report by Monday. Ironically, no further date has been given by the civic agency on when the report would finally be ready.

Till date, no action has been taken against any official for the collapse on November 15, which claimed 70 lives. The MCD internal report was initially scheduled to be submitted within four days of the incident by the chief vigilance officer. The dates, however, kept getting extended. Last week, standing committee chairman Yogender Chandolia had claimed that he had directed the MCD commissioner to submit the report by Monday.

A week later, Chandolia changed his stance. "Since the Delhi government has also initiated a judicial enquiry into the matter, we feel that submission of our report may influence the outcome of the judicial report. To sort out these issues, I will be meeting the commissioner on Tuesday. We have been told that vigilance is facing certain difficulties in compiling the report. But the reason is unclear, " said Chandolia. MCD commissioner K S Mehra had earlier claimed that since this was a complex issue, the vigilance was facing problems in conducting its inquiry and would require more time to submit its report. According to officials, the main problem is that files pertaining to the building which had collapsed are missing.

Press and information director Deep Mathur, meanwhile, gave a different reason for the delay. He claimed that the MCD was awaiting the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) report. "We need the findings of the CBRI before submitting our final report. All these reports will then be handed over to the judicial authorities probing the matter which is supposed to submit its report within three months," said Mathur.

The CBRI had collected samples from the site few weeks ago and was supposed to give its findings. MCD had sent vacation notices to 38 buildings in the area and the CBRI was also supposed to give its report on whether they could be repaired. In case, they are declared dangerous, MCD would then demolish these buildings, according to officials.

With cracks developing in several buildings in the last month, it is now becoming a matter of concern. MCD claims that it is carrying out a survey to identify dangerous buildings but does not have the manpower for such extensive surveys.