MCD surveys basements

Taking lessons from Chandni Mahal, where mindless digging in the basement weakened the foundation of the adjacent building which eventually collapsed, MCD has started surveying all basements of under-construction buildings in the city.

Taking lessons from Chandni Mahal, where mindless digging in the basement weakened the foundation of the adjacent building which eventually collapsed, MCD has started surveying all basements of under-construction buildings in the city.
In south Delhi alone, 22 stop-work notices were served to property owners carrying out digging in their basements without taking adequate safety and precautionary measures.

HT Image

As a result, all owners who have been served notices cannot carry out any construction till the property is inspected by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials and given permission for further construction.

The central zone of the civic agency, which has most south Delhi areas under its jurisdiction, served notices to owners of areas such as Greater Kailash I, various blocks of Kalkaji, New Friends Colony, Jangpura, Lajpat Nagar I and II, Hemkunt Colony, among others.

For the past two days, junior engineers of central zone have been carrying out a survey of all buildings where construction was being carried out. Separate teams of engineers were formed for this purpose.

"Though they had got the building plan approved by us, the required safety and precautionary measures were not being taken by owners. Had they continued the digging in the same fashion, it would have weakened the foundations of the adjacent building, making them vulnerable. An extensive survey was conducted by our junior engineers, who found out serious violations in many such buildings," said a senior MCD official.

According to the civic agency, in case a property owner starts construction again without seeking written permission from MCD, the property will be sealed.

"After Chandni Mahal, we had recently found a similar case in Kalkaji. We immediately stopped construction in that building and are now demolishing it," added the official.