New Delhi: Addressing a Congress party briefing at the AICC headquarters, party leader Abhishek Dutt expressed condolences to the families of students who lost their lives in the Satya Niketan building collapse and criticised the Delhi government and municipal authorities over alleged lapses in ensuring the safety of buildings in the national capital.
Dutt said people from across the country come to Delhi for education and employment, making it the government’s moral responsibility to ensure their safety and provide adequate facilities.
Referring to the legal framework governing illegal construction, Dutt said that in 1985, the then Congress government led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi amended the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act by introducing Section 466A. He claimed the provision enabled authorities to take action against builders involved in illegal construction and impose penalties, resulting in several builders being jailed at the time.
Dutt further referred to a 2003 Delhi High Court case filed by the NGO Kalyan Sansthan Social Welfare Organization. He said the petition highlighted the construction of around 18,229 illegal properties in Delhi between 2001 and 2005, allegedly without adequate action by the authorities. According to Dutt, the High Court subsequently took cognisance of the matter and removed 17 senior officials from their positions.
He alleged that the Centre later removed Section 466A under the Jan Vishwas Act, claiming that this has weakened the legal action that can be taken against builders involved in illegal construction in Delhi.
Dutt also questioned the accuracy of the MCD’s pre-monsoon building safety survey. He said the civic body surveyed around 32 lakh houses this year but identified only 19 as dangerous, while the building that collapsed in Satya Niketan had reportedly not been classified as dangerous.
He alleged that MCD surveys were being conducted merely as a “paper exercise”, pointing out that between 2023 and 2026, the civic body surveyed around one crore buildings but classified only 103 buildings as dangerous.
Dutt accused the BJP government of adopting a double standard, alleging that while bulldozers are used against poor people’s slums and shanties, action is not taken with the same urgency against illegal constructions by influential builders.
He said that had officials properly inspected the buildings, declared unsafe structures as dangerous and ensured their evacuation, the deaths in the Satya Niketan incident could potentially have been prevented.
The Congress leader outlined three key demands:
- Immediate dismissal of guilty officials by the Delhi government under Section 56J.
- Restoration of Section 466A, which Congress alleges was removed under the Jan Vishwas Act and had provided for action against illegal construction.
- A fresh comprehensive survey of buildings across Delhi, with the complete list of structures classified as dangerous to be made publicly available on the municipal corporation’s website.
Dutt said the Congress would continue to press for accountability, transparency and stronger enforcement of building safety norms in Delhi.