‘Can raze illegal parts, won't leave': Residents stay put in homes declared ‘dangerous' by MCD

Indian Express

2 days ago

As of July 14, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as part of its annual survey across its 12 zones in the Capital, has declared 22 houses as 'dangerous' and 320 'in need of repair'. However, despite being issued evacuation notices, residents of several such 'dangerous' houses continue to stay on, refusing to vacate the premises.
These 'dangerous' structures are located in areas like Kotla Mubarakpur, Okhla village, Sahyog Vihar, Seelampur, Dariba Kalan, Rohini, Burari, and Jahangirpuri, among others.
The Indian Express visited a few such houses, where many residents have refused to leave.
At Keshavpuram Zone in Shalimar Bagh in Northwest Delhi, four lower-income group flats in a building constructed by the Delhi Development Authority in BB Block have been declared dangerous by the MCD. All four flats are occupied, with one resident claiming he has a 'stability certificate' issued by a 'structural engineer'.
Visible cracks run along the pillars of the building — which has 18 flats — while swollen walls do not allow any door to be shut.
A resident of one of the four flats said that several parts of the building have been constructed illegally. 'Two years ago, I had written to various authorities stating that the house has developed cracks… the ceiling of rooms and washrooms has fallen multiple times. They conducted a survey and said either to vacate the house or demolish the illegal parts.'
The last evacuation notice was received by the resident on May 22, asking him to vacate the premises within 24 hours. 'But since then, no one has come here to check… We are ready to demolish unauthorised constructions but not vacate the flat,' he added.
A resident who stays in a flat on the first floor — also in the list of four dangerous houses — said he had taken the flat on rent in 2009. 'After the building was declared dangerous, we got a survey done by structural engineers, who said the building is safe. Now, we will go and meet the authorities.'
Over 17 km away, a narrow road covered with silt and flooded with rainwater leads to an old red-coloured building with visible cracks in the plaster. Located near Piayaao Chowk in Garhi village in East of Kailash, houses, along with shops in the building, have been declared dangerous. The ground floor houses three shops – a pharmacy, a mobile store, and a shop selling bags. Residents live on the above three floors.
The pharmacy owner said he did not know that the building had been categorised as dangerous. However, tenants, who have been staying on the second floor for over a year and paying a rent of Rs 10,000, said the notice came two to three months ago. Following this, they were told by the owner that the building had been repaired, they claimed. The owner of the building could not be contacted for a comment.
At 766, Chabi Ganj in Kashmere Gate, a two-storey building — housing six-seven flats — stands with half-demolished walls, mattresses and toilet seats buried under the debris.
According to the residents, they were issued a notice of evacuation on June 2. Two weeks later, the houses were demolished.
Local residents claimed most of the occupants were either given money or land by the builder to vacate the premises. One of the residents, Bharat Kumar, claimed that the building had not been surveyed by the civic authorities.
The MCD study, being conducted for over five months now, has surveyed 98.35% or 30,93,678 houses that fall under the civic body's limits. While nine zones have been examined, surveys at Shahdara (North), City-SP, and Karol zones are yet to be completed, said officials.
An official from MCD said that once a house is declared dangerous after a survey conducted by a local junior engineer (JE), a 'vacation notice' is served to the occupants as well as the local police. 'The police have to ensure that the building is vacated,' the official said, adding that this should usually happen within a day or sometimes within a week.
The official further said that if residents of a 'dangerous' building ask for time to get the premises repaired, the JE has to take a call on this. 'If permission is granted, repair work has to start within a few hours… following which a structure engineer will survey the work and submit a report to the MCD for approval.'