Residents, workers allege neglect, apathy
nNEW DELHI: “I have been working here since 2005 and whenever any train passes by, one can feel the walls of the building shudder. The building is old and in a precarious state, but people continue to make alterations to the structure. None of the authorities concerned took note of the state of the building and construction,” said Ram Niwas (50), who works at one of the factories in the complex, in which a portion of a building collapsed on Wednesday, killing a police officer.
Built before 1922, the complex is barely 40m from railway tracks and spans a 5,000-square yard area in Ram Bagh near Azad Market in north Delhi. HT visited the spot, and saw that the building was visibly run down. Many of the walls were cracked, the cement had peeled off the walls, and balconies hung precariously on rusted, exposed metal beams.
In the records of the North
Delhi Municipal Corporation’s records, Azad market comes under the walled city area, which also includes areas such as Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid, and other parts of Old Delhi.
A senior official of the north corporation’s building department said, “No fresh construction or addition of floors are allowed in old buildings in the walled city area. In some cases, if there are renovations required, or the building has become so dangerous that a new construction is needed, the property owner has to seek permission from the civic body before starting any such work.”
On Wednesday afternoon, mayor of the north corporation, Jai Prakash inspected the area and ordered a probe. “It is a case of illegal construction. The building is very old, and no permission was sought for constructions here. We are already conducting a survey of dangerous buildings in the north civic body’s area, and found that there are 125 old and dangerous buildings in the old city area. The survey is still underway, but I have ordered officials to check if this building features in the list of dangerous buildings,” Jai Prakash, north corporation mayor said.
After a building is deemed “dangerous”, the civic body issues notice to the owner to either repair the property or demolish the respective portion.
Sections of the complex are owned by a number of traders. The building also houses offices of real estate agents and godowns.
According to local traders, the building used to be a biscuit factory as far back as 1922. It was shifted in 1970, and the property was bought by a businessman, Shiv Shankar Gupta, who still owns a few parts of the property.
According to people working in the area, the building was dangerous. Gupta said the building portion which collapsed was purchased by a businessman in 2002. He said the businessman was making constructions on the upper floors.
“The building is very old, and some portions have become perilous. Authorities concerned were informed about the poor condition of the building, to no avail. Not even a single official of the civic body ever came here for an inspection, and no notice was served,” Gupta said.
Labourers working at these factories also live in portions of the building complex. “We live in constant fear for our lives. Officials should make efforts to restore such old buildings,” Roshan Sahu, a labourer at a factory in the building, said
nNEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has sought a plan from the civic agencies in Delhi for installing Radio Frequency Identity (RFID) system at 111 toll points to electronically deduct municipal toll tax and the environment compensation charge (ECC) from e-wallets of commercial vehicles. The plan has to be submitted by August 20, the court said.
The RFID system is already working at 13 toll points in Delhi. There are total 124 toll points in Delhi.
The Supreme Court order, passed on Monday, came on a suggestion by Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) — an expert statutory body assisting the apex court in matters relating to environment and pollution.
EPCA pointed out to the court that with the introduction of RFID technology, it has been possible to check the entry of commercial vehicles older than 10 years.
It has further improved online collection of the environment cess, EPCA said.
The ECC was imposed on commercial vehicles by the Supreme Court to dissuade their entry into the Capital in order to reduce air pollution.
In its latest report dated January 28, 2020 submitted to the top court, EPCA said, “The results from the 13 entry points are substantial and suggest that the efforts to mitigate pollution have been rewarded. There is a 95% reduction in the total particulate load from trucks entering from 13 locations, as compared to 2015. There is 87-94% reduction in NOX loads from light-heavy duty vehicles entering from 13 locations.”
A bench of justices Arun Mishra, Br Gavai and Krishna Murari on Monday said, “It is agreed to by the learned counsel appearing for EPCA and the municipal corporation that on all the 111 entry points, RFID should be implemented and that can be done within the budget which is available. Let the steps be taken in this regard for implementation of the RFID and plan be placed on record before the next date of hearing on August 20.”
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the Court as amicus curiae in this matter, told Hindustan Times, “The 13 locations were selected since 80% heavy vehicles used them to enter the city. But in the latest assessment, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) informed the court that commercial traffic was increasing at the 111 other entry points to the national capital.”
According to the EPCA report, the entry of commercial vehicles at 13 entry points has reduced from a maximum of 38,000 per day to 3,000 per day after the introduction of ECC and RFID system.
“The number of commercial vehicles entering Delhi also reduced after the opening of Western and Eastern Peripheral expressways last year,” Singh said.
According to the EPCA report, “Vehicle owners (of commercial vehicles) are seeking new entry points to avoid payment of ECC.”
To plug this loophole, the EPCA urged the apex court to extend RFID to all entry points of the Capital on an urgent basis. The project, to be undertaken by SDMC, will incur a cost of Rs 36 crore.
For the first phase (in 13 locations), Rs 80.94 crore was spent. The total cost for both phases will be Rs 116.94 crore, which is within the stipulated Rs 120 crore sanctioned as project cost by the court, EPCA stated.
A senior official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which is the nodal agency to collect ECC in Delhi, said 111 more toll points are to be equipped with RFID for which the SC has asked to submit a report by August 20.
“EPCA has convened a meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday. Once the Supreme Court clears the plan, we will start work on it,” the official said, requesting anonymity.