The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has suspended five officials, including a deputy commissioner, following the collapse of a building housing a paying guest facility in Satya Niketan that killed at least seven people.
The action was taken less than 24 hours after the building collapsed on Sunday afternoon. All five suspended officials belong to the MCD’s South Zone and have been suspended with immediate effect pending disciplinary proceedings.
The officials suspended are South Zone Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kumar, Superintending Engineer Ranvir Singh, Executive Engineer (Building) Lalit Kumar Goel, Assistant Engineer (Building) Sunil Chauhan and Junior Engineer Ashish Kumar.
MCD Commissioner Sanjiv Khirwar said the civic body has “zero tolerance” towards unauthorised construction and stressed that the building department would be held accountable in such cases.
According to officials, ongoing construction work in the basement of the boys’ PG accommodation is suspected to have caused structural damage, eventually leading to the collapse. Rescue teams continued their search operation for missing people, including students, for a second day.
The Delhi government has also ordered the immediate sealing of illegal structures with four or more floors. The MCD said strict action would be taken against officials found responsible for allowing unauthorised construction.
The collapsed property, identified as P-14 Satya Niketan, stood on a plot measuring around 55 square yards. The building consisted of a basement, ground floor and four upper floors. Officials said the structure was reportedly constructed in the 1990s.
A senior MCD official said there was no sanctioned building plan available for the property and that the basement construction was unauthorised. The civic body also said there were no previous records of bookings, sealing orders or complaints concerning the property.
The latest action comes amid a broader MCD crackdown on unauthorised construction and commercial misuse of residential properties. Between June 1 and September 3, the civic body demolished 983 properties, sealed 464 properties and issued 1,516 show-cause notices related to unauthorised construction. It also issued 708 sealing show-cause notices and 726 demolition orders.
The MCD has also conducted a three-month survey of residential areas to identify properties being used commercially.
The Satya Niketan collapse has renewed concerns over illegal construction, building safety and regulatory enforcement in densely populated areas of Delhi.
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