80% of Delhi buildings not quake-safe
NEW DELHI: About 80% of the Capital’s buildings are not structurally equipped to withstand an earthquake, the municipal corporations admitted before the Delhi high court on Wednesday.
The corporations said only about 20% of the buildings conform to the building bye laws.
Expressing serious reservation over the submission, a bench of justice BD Ahmed and justice Sanjeev Sachdeva questioned the “dereliction of duty” by the municipal corporations in allowing buildings to come up without complying with structural safety regulations.
It said if an earthquake like the one in Nepal occurred here, the casualties would not be in thousands but in lakhs. Delhi with a population of over 1.6 crore falls in seismic zone (SZ) IV, a high damage risk zone that can expect the second highest level of earthquakes.
The high court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Arpit Bhargava. He sought court directions to immediately determine seismic stability of buildings in Delhi. The court issued notices to Delhi government and municipal corporations seeking their responses by May 20.
It also directed the civic authorities to indicate in their affidavits, whether buildings in the city are complying with the structural safety norms prescribed in the National Building Code (NBC) for seismic zone IV.
During the hearing, the bench observed that in areas like Karol Bagh majority of the buildings have been constructed in violation of the norms. It enquired how “every building in Karol Bagh has more than six floors”.
In the PIL, Bhargava has also sought direction to the authorities to take consequent remedial measures in a timebound manner in the larger public interest. He claimed that Delhi currently has close to 2,000 unauthorised colonies, which are in different stages of regularisation.
“It is apparent that the construction is carried out in these colonies without obtaining any approval from any authorities,” the PIL said. It also said that approximately 50 lakh people were staying in these colonies.
IT IS APPARENT THAT THE CONSTRUCTION IS CARRIED OUT IN THESE (ILLEGAL) COLONIES WITHOUT OBTAINING ANY APPROVAL FROM ANY AUTHORITY.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION