The Times of India 19.11.2010
MCD let illegal buildings come up: Sheila
NEW DELHI: A specially-convened cabinet meeting on Thursday evening put its stamp of approval on the judicial inquiry instituted on Wednesday into the building collapse at Lalita Park. A tense chief minister retorted to queries squarely blaming the MCD for the illegal constructions and mess in the area.
"First the MCD allows it all to come up and now in panic goes about ordering evacuations from unsafe buildings," CM Sheila Dikshit lashed out on being asked what was the government's plan for rehabilitating those who have been asked to evacuate the unsafe buildings. She, however, mellowed down a few minutes later and told mediapersons that a meeting will be held in a day or two to work out a policy to deal with such a situation.
As the cabinet meeting ended, urban development minister and Laxmi Nagar MLA A K Walia was missing in action. While some said Walia must have been monitoring the building collapse issue since it falls in his constituency, the other rumour doing the rounds was that Walia had sent a message expressing his inability to attend the cabinet as he was unwell. Earlier in the day when the CM was asked to comment on reports that the accused owner of the building, Amrit Singh, had named Walia, she shot back saying, "Do you believe him?". Walia had denied the accused building owner's allegations on Wednesday through an official statement.
Meanwhile, Dikshit asserted that the one-member judicial commission set up to probe the collapse will find out what led to the incident and suggest measures to overhaul the system which can act as a "deterrent" against such tragedies. "We will also go into other aspects like who all were responsible for such a tragedy and who all were responsible for allowing a three-storey building to have five storeys. When all these things will come out, we can find a solution," Dikshit had pointed on the sidelines of a function earlier in the day. The inquiry, to be conducted by former Delhi high court judge Justice Lokeshwar Prashad, will probe all aspects of the incident, including whether there was any procedural, administrative, and statutory lapses that led to the tragedy. While a blame game has already begun between MCD and Delhi government, with both passing the buck to each other over the tragedy, Dikshit said, "What is essential is accountability. There is connivance." She said local bodies like MCD are responsible for giving no-objection certification, passing building plans, examining land and the landowners.
The cabinet, too, dwelled on the issue of multiplicity of authorities and the lack of full statehood as a major deterrent in delivery of services and monitoring of land and law and order concerns. The cabinet also discussed the possibilities of taking up the matter with the Centre to reaffirm their demand for bringing MCD and policing under the state.
