All construction above 17.5 meters in residential areas of Delhi is illegal, will be sealed

New Delhi, June 5. To prevent recurrence of horrific incidents like the Malviya Nagar fire in the national capital and to curb unauthorized constructions, violation of fire safety standards and activities that endanger the lives of citizens, all illegal constructions going on above four floors (17.5 metres), including the ground floor, in Delhi will be sealed.

Delhi Government Minister Ashish Sood gave instructions for immediate action

Delhi Government’s Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood said that to identify such construction work, special, sub-divisional and district level task forces have been instructed to monitor and take immediate action. Every day progress report will be sent directly to the Chief Minister’s Office through the Divisional Commissioner.

‘Illegal construction free and safe Delhi is our priority’

After the high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday evening at the Delhi Secretariat, Minister Ashish Sood said, ‘Now illegal construction free and safe Delhi is our priority. Now negligence will not be tolerated at any level and personal accountability will also be fixed against the responsible officers.

Special monitoring of tall buildings

According to Ashish Sood, the Chief Minister directed to especially focus on buildings with height more than 17.5 meters. He said that wherever construction work is going on against the rules, the process of immediately stopping the construction, registering an FIR and taking legal action against the building owner, builder or colonizer should be initiated.

Responsibility of the concerned officers will also be decided

He said that the responsibility of the concerned officers will also be decided. Instructing a safety review of old high-rise buildings, the Minister said that in buildings where permission related violations are found, action should be taken to vacate the upper floors, seal and close them. He directed the MCD to ensure strict adherence to building bye-laws.

Ban on fixed glass windows and new policies

Regarding fire safety, the Chief Minister termed fixed glass windows as a serious threat and said that openable windows and balconies should be ensured in all buildings. He said that in case of fire, these arrangements provide an opportunity for people to get out or be saved by rescue teams. He also expressed the need to review electronic and automatic locking systems and formulate a new policy.

The Chief Minister also directed that new water and electricity connections or no-objection certificates should not be provided to buildings which do not have valid completion certificates. Besides, instructions were given to prepare a detailed list of all the illegal constructions currently going on and photos of the officers responsible for them and send it to the government immediately.

Property of guilty officers and colonizers, builder, Recovery will also be made from Honor

Minister Ashish Sood said that under the Revenue Recovery Act-1890, the loss suffered by the government will be compensated from the salary, pension and properties of the guilty officers. Besides, bank accounts and movable and immovable properties of builders, owners and colonizers will be frozen and attached. He made it clear that no scope will be left to escape any kind of responsibility.

Giving instructions to make the accountability of officers more stringent in the meeting, the Chief Minister said that negative comments will be recorded in the APAR (Annual Performance Appraisal Report) of negligent officers, which will impact their future career. He said that instead of taking action only on subordinate employees, responsibility of senior officers would also be fixed.