New Delhi: A Delhi government-ordered magisterial probe has found the MCD to be "primarily responsible" for the May 30 Saket building collapse, which claimed six lives, and charged it with fabricating records to "mislead" the inquiry.
The report, submitted recently by the district magistrate (South) to the Delhi chief secretary, said the civic body was negligent as it "failed" to enforce building bylaws, concluding that the disaster was preventable.
The multi-storey commercial building housing coaching centres, cafes and offices near Saket metro station collapsed, resulting in the death of six people and injuries to eight others.
The magisterial inquiry found that the collapse was caused primarily due to unauthorised structural additions, including illegal third and fourth floors, combined with inadequate regulatory enforcement.
The report, while giving a clean chit to other agencies, including police and Delhi Jal Board, states that the MCD had shortcomings in its monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, especially its failure to act on an earlier complaint about illegal construction.
A complaint about unauthorised construction at the building was received on March 9, but the inquiry found no records of inspections, verification, booking of violations, demolition, or preventive action for more than two months.
Highlighting administrative inaction and inadequate field monitoring, the report said the illegal third and fourth floors of the building were officially booked only on May 27, although they had been constructed about three months before the collapse.
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The report also claimed that the MCD officials appeared to have created "false and fabricated" documents after the collapse, including a show-cause notice dated May 27, to cover up the shortcomings on their part.
A work-stop notice dated May 29 showed that these documents were allegedly prepared to "mislead" the inquiry and create a "false impression" that official action had been taken.
Further, the report rejected the MCD's claim that the building collapse was triggered by excavation of an underground water tank. It said this explanation lacked technical evidence and appeared to be based on assumptions rather than verified findings.
The report recommended fixing accountability for both field-level and supervisory officers, mandatory structural safety audits for old, unauthorised and high-risk buildings, stricter inspections and enforcement to prevent such tragedies in future.
It also recommended multi-agency joint inspection teams, GIS-based mapping of vulnerable buildings, digital monitoring of unsafe structures, risk categorisation of buildings and immediate demolition or evacuation of structures found to be unsafe.
