MCD, DUSIB trade blame over Seemapuri building collapse

A day after a five-storey building collapsed in New Seemapuri, killing at least four people and injuring several others, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) on Thursday sought to shift responsibility for regulating illegal construction in the area, with both agencies claiming that enforcement fell under the other’s jurisdiction

A day after a five-storey building collapsed in New Seemapuri, killing at least four people and injuring several others, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) on Thursday sought to shift responsibility for regulating illegal construction in the area, with both agencies claiming that enforcement fell under the other’s jurisdiction.

The building, E-401 in E-Block, New Seemapuri, stood on a 25-square-yard plot (Hindustan Times)

While MCD maintained that the building stood in a slum area (Jhuggie Jhopri) on DUSIB land and that the land-owning agency was responsible for preventing illegal construction, DUSIB officials said the land had been allotted for resettlement in the 1980s and that enforcing building safety norms was the corporation’s responsibility.

The building, E-401 in E-Block, New Seemapuri, stood on a 25-square-yard plot.

An MCD spokesperson reiterated that the building was on DUSIB land and had developed cracks following Tuesday night’s earthquake in Uttarakhand, according to a preliminary local inquiry.

Another municipal official said a standard building plan applicable to such colonies permitted only two floors, and any additional construction was illegal.

“The DDA in the past has asked the corporation to look into illegal construction across Delhi as part of a special task force arrangement. But the primary responsibility to prevent illegalities falls to the land owning agency. If the land is owned by the agency, who else can we issue notices to other than the owner when something like this happens?” the official said.

“After that, we have no mandate for overseeing the land or carrying out any development work. The building plans and building safety norms are the responsibility of the MCD,” the official said.

Another DUSIB official said that under a government resettlement scheme in 1989, residents of JJ clusters were allotted plots measuring 25 square yards each, on which they were permitted to construct ground-plus-one structures.

“Allottees were supposed to build only G+1 structures but built five-storeyed buildings. The MCD is mandated to enforce building by-laws and development in such colonies. DUSIB only carried out development works in JJ clusters,” the official said.

DUSIB maintains a list of 675 recognised Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ) clusters across Delhi. It also manages 44 Jhuggi Jhopri Removal (JJR) resettlement colonies established between 1960 and 1985, along with newer shelter and relocation housing projects.

DUSIB CEO Rupesh Thakur did not respond to the MCD’s claims.

To be sure, Section 332 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act prohibits the construction of buildings without the municipal commissioner’s prior sanction and requires construction to comply with the Act and applicable building by-laws.

Independent experts said the corporation has the statutory powers to regulate building activity across areas under its jurisdiction in Delhi.