New Delhi, Sept. 10 -- The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has intensified its enforcement drive against unauthorised constructions and structurally unsafe buildings, carrying out 34 demolition actions and sealing 17 properties across its 12 zones on Wednesday.

The civic body also issued 22 show-cause notices and passed four demolition orders during the day. The action followed a similar exercise on Tuesday, when 17 properties were demolished and five others sealed for violations of the Master Plan of Delhi and Building Bye-Laws.

Among the major actions was a demolition at a property in Gali Gondni Wali, Kucha Chelan, Jama Masjid, where two ground-floor roof panels and a partition wall were removed with police assistance. Action was also taken against unauthorised construction at Sadak Prem Narain in Bazar Sitaram.

In Vikas Nagar and Sector 17, Dwarka, the civic body acted against properties declared dangerous. At a property in Rana Pratap Bagh, four RCC roof-slab panels on the third floor and one on the first floor were demolished, with reinforcement cut using a gas cutter. Similar action was taken at a property in Sardar Nagar, Model Town, where three RCC slab panels were removed.

Focus on PG accommodations

Alongside the enforcement drive, the MCD is conducting a city-wide survey of paying guest (PG) accommodation buildings to create a database and assess structural vulnerabilities.

So far, around 1,243 buildings housing PG facilities and approximately 24,000 occupants have been identified. The civic body is giving particular attention to buildings with more than five storeys and RCC-framed structures, as well as four-storey buildings with load-bearing brick walls.

Following field assessments, the buildings are being classified as visibly safe, repairable with minor or major repairs, or visibly vulnerable/dangerous.

The survey is scheduled to be completed on September 10, after which the MCD plans to take action wherever unauthorised construction, structural deficiencies or other safety violations are found.

The exercise comes amid the civic body's wider push to identify buildings that could pose risks to residents and occupants and act against violations before they lead to accidents.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.