Rajendra Nagar deaths: Basement ‘illegally’ used for commercial activity, says civic body

Students of other coaching centres, which were also using basements as study halls and libraries, said their classes were cancelled due to the incident

The basement at the Rau’s IAS Study Circle coaching centre where three aspirants were trapped and drowned to death in Rajendra Nagar was being illegally used for commercial activity, senior civic functionaries said, citing a completion and occupancy certificate issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on August 9, 2021, which said that the basement could only be used for parking or household storage.

The scene of the incident on Sunday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Mayor Shelly Oberoi said that the coaching centre was “running a library in the basement illegally” even as “library or other commercial activity was not allowed in its basement.”

However, the problem of illegal use of basements as libraries and other commercial activities is rampant across Karol Bagh-Rajendra Nagar, locals and students said on Sunday.

MCD, in an official statement, said: “Use of basement for reading hall/library was not allowed”, adding it sealed three properties for such violations in the Karol Bagh zone on Sunday.

Students of other coaching centres, which were also using basements as study halls and libraries, said their classes were cancelled due to the incident.

The mayor ordered MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar to crack down on the “coaching centre or other commercial activities running in the basement” and to “take strict action against the officers responsible for it.”

In an order on Sunday, Oberoi said: “It is MCD’s responsibility to ensure that such incident does not recur in any part of Delhi. All such coaching centres across Delhi which are under the jurisdiction of MCD and running commercial activities in basements which are in violation of building bye-laws strict action should be taken against them immediately.”

The Rajendra Nagar stretch where the institute is situated is replete with similar multi-storey coaching centres, many of which run libraries from the basement, students said.

While some libraries, protesting students said, were open to only students of their institute, some gave memberships on a monthly or yearly basis.

Mohak Gupta, 26, of Maharashtra, who has been studying here since 2022, said: “All the coaching centres around here offer library services and most of them are in the basement violating the building bylaws that they cannot do commercial activity in the basement.”

Another student Deepa Kumari, 25, of Odisha, said that institutes also run classes in the basement. “Mock tests and even classes are taken. The institute I go to takes classes in the basement with hundreds of students in one class,” she said.

An MCD official, on condition of anonymity, said that the illegal use of the basement for commercial activities is rampant across the city. “In any condition, activity involving public gathering cannot be allowed in basement due to potential risk but rampant violations can be seen across the city,” the official said.

The official said that Rajendra Nagar suffers due to residential plots being converted to commercial ones, as it’s in a mixed land-use zone.

The unified building bylaws, regarding basement use, says “adequate arrangements should be made so that surface drainage does not enter basement”.

Mayor Oberoi said: “If any MCD officer is responsible for this accident, strict action should be taken against them as well.”

MCD, in a statement, said: “Institute used storage as the place for coaching/ library. Had it followed the norms of approval, the tragedy would have been averted. This coaching centre and other buildings along the road have unfortunately encroached and covered the storm drains by extending their buildings in the form of platforms and ramps, thereby, making draining of water difficult and cleaning of drains impossible.”

“MCD will remove illegal encroachments on the storm water drain in question and other drains to address drainage. We will take strict action against basements in coaching centres running in violations and compromising safety and security of students,” it said.

Oberoi said: “After yesterday’s tragic incident, MCD has started the process of sealing all coaching centres in Rajendra Nagar that were violating rules in the basement. If necessary, this campaign will be run all across Delhi.”