Seemapuri collapse: Why Delhi’s blanket amnesty law needs a rethink

Under the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, unauthorised structures built before June 2014 are protected from punitive action

In a statement hours after a five-storey building collapsed in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri on Wednesday, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) claimed that the structure was 20-25 years old, a claim contested by the victims and people living in the neighbourhood.

A view of NDRF, Delhi Fire Service, Civil Defence and Delhi Police personnel carrying out rescue operations after a five-storey building collapsed in the Seemapuri area of New Delhi on October 7 (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

The distinction is critical. Claiming that a collapsed structure is old implies that it cannot be accused of inaction since these are protected from demolition by a central law.

Under the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act passed by Parliament, unauthorised structures built before June 2014 are protected from punitive action, including demolition and sealing. At the time, it was argued that this would give government agencies time to finalise norms and come up with feasible strategies to implement Delhi’s Master Plan.

The regulatory shield dates back to February 2006, when the MCD launched a city-wide sealing drive following court orders. The scale of unauthorised construction and other violations was so large that the government enacted a law to grant a temporary, one-year reprieve.

It was subsequently extended in 2007, 2009, 2011 and thereafter every three years until 2023. The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Act, 2023, extended protection for unauthorised buildings for another three years, until December 31, 2026.

A senior MCD official dealing with building regulations said preparations for another extension have already started among the urban local bodies.

“Most of the urban villages, abadi areas, resettlement colonies, unplanned trans-Yamuna areas and even Old Delhi have buildings with illegalities and no sanctioned building plans. In unauthorised colonies, even seven- and eight-storey buildings have been constructed, but a large chunk of these are protected under one provision or another. No government has found it electorally conducive to take tough steps,” the official added.

Former MCD works committee chairman Jagdish Mamgain said the law had created a mess of its own.

“It was supposed to be a temporary provision, but it has been extended every few years, increasing the blanket protection. It has been 19 years since the law came into force, and it has created its own mess. What was meant to maintain the status quo has become a loophole for expanding illegal construction. How can one decide whether a building was constructed in 2015 or 2014?” he added, underlining that it was time to find a solution to this mess rather than just keep extending the blanket.

Each successive government responded with regularisation schemes, amnesty provisions and special laws that allowed these settlements to maintain status quo without addressing the underlying shortage of planned housing and commercial space.

On April 7, 2026, the central government also announced the regularisation of 1,511 unauthorised colonies in Delhi on an ‘as-is-where-is’ basis, with an estimated population of 4.5 million. “Most of these buildings don’t conform to building byelaws, but the as-is-where-is provision leaves the vulnerable structures open for regularisation,” an official added.