Two months after collapse in Greater Noida, a crackdown on illegal buildings

The Greater Noida authority on Wednesday started cracking down against the unauthorised structures in Shahberi where a twin building collapse in July had killed nine persons

The Greater Noida authority on Wednesday started cracking down against the unauthorised structures in Shahberi where a twin building collapse in July had killed nine persons. The drive began with the demolition of four unauthorised buildings.

The authority started the demolition drive with seven earthmovers at 10am on Wednesday and also took the help of the police to maintain law and order in the area during the drive. (HT Photo)

On July 17, twin buildings collapsed in Shahberi village in Greater Noida, killing nine persons and injuring several others.

In the days following the collapse, a building in the village also tilted, prompting authorities to get building and others in its vicinity vacated.

After the Shahberi collapse, the Greater Noida authority, in July, had sealed around 30 buildings, which were illegal and unsafe as the building owners flouted building by-laws while constructing them.

The owners of these buildings did not install lifts, leave setback areas and never obtained a no-objection certificate or fire safety clearance from the authorities concerned.

“To begin with, in our drive against illegal structures, we have demolished four buildings constructed on village land without approvals. One building had five floors, another had four floors, a third building had three floors and the fourth was a single-storey building,” AK Arora, general manager, Greater Noida authority, said.

The authority started the demolition drive with seven earthmovers at 10am on Wednesday and also took the help of the police to maintain law and order in the area during the drive. The drive ended at 6pm and it will continue on Thursday as well.

“The authority has decided to demolish all buildings, which were sealed on safety grounds. The authority will keep acting against the buildings, which are being constructed without approval,” Arora said.

The owners of these four buildings were selling shops to buyers and flouted all laid down norms of urban town planning, officials said.

These four buildings were being constructed on Khasra number 54, 55 and 60, each measuring around 30,000 square metres. The land belongs to farmers of Shahberi. “Farmers must have sold the land to private developers, who were constructing illegal structures,” a Greater Noida authority official said.

The twin buildings, which collapsed in Shahberi killing nine people, had been built in violation of the building by-laws. “The illegal buildings pose a threat to the lives of those who will use these structures. We are taking action to ensure that people do not suffer like they did due to the collapse of the twin buildings,” the official said.

The Greater Noida authority is also in the process of hiring multiple private agencies to carry out the demolition of illegal buildings. The authority wants to hire expert agencies so that the demolition can be done in a scientific manner without causing any damage to the adjacent structures, officials said.