Sanjeev Khirwar, the Delhi bureaucrat who was at the centre of a controversy years ago after allegedly getting Delhi's Thyagaraj Stadium emptied so he could walk his dog, is back in the spotlight - this time over the deadly collapse of a five-storey building in Satya Niketan.
Khirwar, the current Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, has been speaking about the building collapse that has claimed seven lives and triggered questions over unauthorised construction, regulatory failures and the civic body's role in preventing such disasters.
Speaking about the collapse, Khirwar said, "Unfortunately, we have lost seven lives. We think the building next to the collapsed building has weakened, and it was strengthened through the night. We will take it up for demolition in a calibrated manner in the next 1-2 days."
Deep Dive
What led to the collapse of the Satya Niketan building in Delhi?
Why has the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) faced scrutiny after the building collapse?
How is the MCD responding to the aftermath of the Satya Niketan tragedy?
He also said the MCD had been taking action against unauthorised construction in the area.
"In August, we had passed demolition orders for 3-4 buildings in the same area. A regular identification is conducted. In the last three months, 960 demolitions were carried out, 407 buildings were sealed, and notices were served to 1500 buildings for sealing and demolition. This is a regular process to take action against unauthorized construction," he added, speaking to ANI news agency.
Khirwar told HT that officials have "zero tolerance" against unauthorised construction and that the building department would be made accountable in such cases.
{{/usCountry}}Khirwar told HT that officials have "zero tolerance" against unauthorised construction and that the building department would be made accountable in such cases.
{{/usCountry}}His remarks come as the Delhi high court on Monday has questioned not just the role of the property owner but also that of the MCD and other authorities in the collapse.
Who is Sanjeev Khirwar?
The Ministry of Home Affairs in January this year appointed Khirwar as the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He is a 1994-batch Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
Khirwar was transferred to Ladakh from Delhi in May 2022 after a public row involving his dog walk routine. He was Delhi’s principal secretary (revenue) before the Ladakh transfer.
The officer had allegedly cleared the Thyagaraj Stadium complex and closed it early in the evening for all athletes so that "he could walk his dog". He had strongly denied the allegations, however, was transferred to Ladakh.
Centre had also shunted out Khirwar's wife Rinku Dugga, also a 1994 batch officers of the AGMUT cadre, over the matter. Dugga was sent to Arunachal Pradesh.
Khirwar succeeded Ashwani Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer, as the MCD commissioner in January this year. Kumar was transferred to Jammu and Kashmir.
Before his posting as Delhi’s principal secretary (revenue), he was the principal secretary (environment and forest) in the Delhi government.
In a career spanning over three decades, he has served in various important positions, including a stint, from October 2009 to August 2014, as a private secretary to the erstwhile Union woman and child welfare ministers, according to an earlier HT report.
Delhi HC raps MCD
Hearing a petition seeking a comprehensive investigation into the incident, a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the MCD to conduct an inquiry at the highest executive level, HT earlier reported. The court said the incident was "unfortunate" and could have been avoided had the authorities been alive to their statutory duties.
"The reported incident is not only unfortunate but it evokes deep concern about inadequate housing facilities in terms of hostel run by the DU/Delhi govt, not so adequate measures by the authorities to run such PG hostels. The responsibility prima facie in our opinion for such mishaps do not lie solely on the owner of PG hostel but the responsibility goes to the university authorities and MCD which is responsible to ensure that every single development in Delhi such as construction of building is carried out as per building bye laws or other regulations regulating such developments. It is not difficult to think that such mishaps are the result of inadequate measure deployed by MCD and other authorities. Had the authorities been alive to the duties casted on them statutorily, this could have been avoided," the court said.
The bench specifically asked the MCD inquiry to determine whether the building had been constructed with valid and requisite permissions and identify officers responsible for any lapse or failure.
The court also turned its attention to the mushrooming of paying guest accommodations in Delhi, particularly those housing students.
"PG's are not only very dangerous, They are causing threat to the lives of students. This is due to lack of the number. In Delhi students from all over the coney come to Delhi, even for humanities. You need to double down the efforts to provide hostels. Many colleges does not have hostels. DU runs hardly 2-3 hostels. There is very very pathetic situation so far as the situation of hostel in Delhi is concerned," the bench said.
The court directed the MCD to carry out a comprehensive inspection of all PG accommodations under its jurisdiction within a week and ascertain whether they have the requisite permissions and comply with building bye-laws.