New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- The Delhi government's decision to complete structural audits of buildings in major paying guest (PG) hubs within a week has put the spotlight not only on the safety of student accommodation but also on the ability of the civic machinery to sustain inspections beyond the immediate aftermath of the Satya Niketan collapse.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has begun a city-wide survey of PG accommodations following the collapse of the building. The initial exercise identified more than 1,100 PG units housing over 20,000 people, with 52 PGs found to be operating from dilapidated buildings, some news reports suggested. The government has also announced mandatory structural audits and safety certification for buildings being used for public activities, including PGs, schools and nursing homes.
The numbers, however, raise a larger concern. With estimates suggesting that Delhi could have around 2 lakh PG accommodations, the scale of the task is far greater than the emergency inspection drive currently underway. At the pace of 1,150 establishments a day, reaching two lakh would take nearly six months, and that too if teams maintained the same pace every day without having to conduct repeat or detailed structural checks.
A senior engineer said the government must distinguish between "enumeration and actual structural safety assessment", as the latter requires qualified engineers, access to building records and, in some cases, technical testing.
"An inspection cannot become a tick-box exercise after a tragedy. A proper structural audit has to establish whether the building can safely carry its present load, whether unauthorised alterations have compromised the structure and whether the use of the building has changed its risk profile," he said.
"If the system is genuinely proactive and the machinery is so active now, the obvious question is why such a building was allowed to operate in the first place. Seven people had to die before the safety of similar buildings became an urgent priority," said a student of Delhi University.
Students living in other densely populated PG clusters said the fear goes beyond Satya Niketan. "In areas like Batla House and Tughlaqabad, many buildings are in such poor condition that we are constantly worried. These areas come under South Delhi, yet the situation is so bad that we fear if one building collapses, the impact could reach the adjoining structures too," said a student living in the area.
Experts said the government must therefore ensure that the current drive does not become a momentary post-tragedy exercise.
"The real test will be what happens after one week. If inspections stop once the headlines disappear, the exercise will have achieved very little. Safety certification has to become a continuing system, with periodic audits and clear accountability when violations are detected," they asserted.
Following the Satya Niketan collapse, the Delhi government has stepped up inspections of PGs and hostels and directed authorities to conduct structural safety audits in major
PG hubs. The MCD has launched a broader survey to identify PG establishments and buildings in poor condition.
The government is also working on a regulatory framework for PGs that is expected to bring licensing, registration and safety requirements
under a formal system. Proposed measures include structural and fire-safety certification, police verification and municipal clearances, along with greater monitoring of PG establishments.
The administration has also indicated that vacant government properties could be explored for student accommodation, while civic
authorities have been directed to identify unsafe structures and take necessary action.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.