Report flags illegal flats, lapses months after Delhi's Vivek Vihar fire kills 9

A Delhi firm, Vardhaman Business Ventures, sold flats without occupancy certificates and violated building regulations, resulting in a fire that killed nine.

A Delhi-based firm, Vardhaman Business Ventures, sold flats in the four-storey residential dwelling in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar – where a deadly blaze on May 3 killed nine people – without obtaining mandatory occupancy certificates, and carried out major structural alterations flouting sanctioned plans, a magisterial inquiry report has found.

A crowd gathers outside the residential building after a fire broke out, killing nine people, at Vivek Vihar in New Delhi. (HT Photo)

The report, submitted by northeast district magistrate Ajay Kumar to the Delhi home department last month, and seen by HT – also said the Delhi Fire Service’s (DFS) first tender ran dry within five minutes, forcing personnel at the site to seek additional vehicles. Additionally, it blamed officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for failing to detect rule violations during the construction.

Builder sold flats without occupancy certificates

Queries sent to Vardhaman Business Ventures Limited by HT via email did not elicit a response.

The fire, which killed nine people from three families and critically injured another – started after a probable short-circuit in the outdoor unit of an air-conditioner on the second floor.

It was part of a larger string of accidents, building collapses and blazes — including the June 3 Hauz Rani fire in which 23 people died, the July 8 Rohini Sector 16 twin building collapse (three dead), the May 30 collapse of a building in south Delhi’s Saidulajab (six dead) and the March 18 fire at residential-cum-commercial building in Palam (nine dead) — that underscored poor monitoring, lax regulations and flagrant flouting of rules by multiple agencies and the police.

“The tragedy was considerably aggravated by multiple contributory factors including deficiencies in fire safety measures, restricted means of escape, the locked terrace access, inadequate ventilation, deviations from prescribed building safety norms, congested approach lanes affecting emergency access, and the rapid spread of smoke and flames within the building,” said the report, which ran to over 400 pages.

“These factors collectively contributed to the loss of life and injuries sustained in the incident.”

MCD officials did not respond to HT’s attempts for a comment.

A senior DFS official said that the agency will comment after seeing the report.

The inquiry said the building plan was sanctioned in 2013 after the original owner bought the plot from DDA. The authorised signatory of Delhi-based Vardhaman Business Ventures Limited told the panel that it acquired the already constructed property in February 2015 through share transfer documents and that construction was completed before the takeover.

But the report rejected the claim, noting that the company failed to produce any evidence to support its version.

“However, he could not provide any proof in support of his submission that these flats at address B-13, Phase-I, Vivek Vihar were already built in 2015 or the construction still continuing,” the report said.

Delhi Police keep a vigil at the spot after a fire at the Flourish Stay B&B killed at least 21 people, including 12 foreigners, at Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar in New Delhi. (HT Photo)

Builder sold flats without occupancy certificate

The inquiry questioned why the company never applied for an occupancy certificate after taking over the project, noting that it “could not provide any explanation for non-application of occupancy certificate”.

“This company did not apply for the occupancy certificate and the flats at Plot No. B-13, Vivek Vihar were sold to different persons without obtaining occupancy certificate from MCD.”

Holding the builders accountable, the inquiry said, “The owners of the company … during the period 2013-18 are the prime culprits in this case against whom the appropriate legal action is required.”

The inquiry found multiple violations of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the Unified Building Bye-Laws (UBBL), 2016, and the National Building Code (NBC) of India, 2016. The DMC Act governs the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to manage civic administration, public health, and urban infrastructure in Delhi; UBBL are a comprehensive set of regulations governing the planning, design, construction, and safety standards for buildings in Delhi. They aim to ensure orderly urban development while incorporating provisions for structural safety, accessibility, environmental sustainability, and fire protection. NBC is a national instrument providing guidelines for regulating the building construction activities across the country. It mainly contains fire safety requirements, material quality, plumbing and structural design.

The report noted that although the online application seeking approval of the layout plan was filed on August 30, 2013, MCD was unable to produce the layout plan before the inquiry panel. MCD officials who appeared before the panel said no inspections were conducted by them following the sanctioning of building plans.

Major deviations found in building plan

The report flagged multiple violations. Instead of a single dwelling unit approved for each floor, two flats were constructed on every level. Iron-grill extensions beyond the sanctioned building line were converted into usable floor space.

“Accordingly, the inquiry concludes that major deviations from the sanctioned building plan by constructing two dwelling units/flats at each floor instead of one floor as per sanctioned building plan... constitute deviations from the sanctioned building configuration and are prima facie inconsistent with the provisions of the Unified Building Bye-Laws for Delhi, 2016,” the report said.

“The legality of these deviations, including their conformity with the sanctioned building plan, requires examination by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for taking appropriate action in accordance with law.”

Fire safety lapses worsened tragedy

The inquiry concluded that while an electrical short circuit may have sparked the blaze, it was the cumulative effect of regulatory violations, unauthorised construction, blocked escape routes and inadequate fire safety measures that turned it into a major tragedy.

The inquiry also flagged shortcomings in the emergency response, noting that the first distress call was routed to Uttar Pradesh before being transferred to Delhi. It said DFS initially dispatched a fire tender, but its water tanker ran dry within five minutes, forcing personnel at the site to seek additional vehicles.

The magisterial inquiry reports into the Hauz Rani fire, Saidulajab building collapse and the Palam fire had also indicted the MCD and other agencies for failing to enforce norms.

In the May Saidulajab building collapse, the magisterial probe found MCD officials didn’t monitor or crackdown on illegal construction, sat on multiple complaints, failed to enforce norms and later fabricated retrospective inspection records to mislead investigators. In the Hauz Rani fire, the report said agencies allowed an illegally expanded building to continue operating as a bed-and-breakfast despite repeated warnings. The magisterial probe report into the March 18 Palam fire had also raised concerns about fire safety, the unpreparedness of agencies to tackle emergencies and the brittle backbone of Delhi’s civic systems.