Post roof collapse incidents in CP, NDMC suspends 4 engineers

Facing flak for failing to avert roof collapse incidents in heritage buildings of Connaught Place (CP), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has swung into action. The Council, which had hinted to take strict steps against the guilty officials after two roof collapse incidents in a span of 10 days, on Monday suspended its four engineers posted in Enforcement-Building Regulation Department (EBR).

The Council said that the suspension was made after reports of lack of supervision by these officials came up. Meanwhile, a committee of six officials including members from IIT Delhi, CPWD and NDMC has been set up for detailed investigation of the roof collapse incidents, the reports of which are awaited.

An order released by Chairman Naresh Kumar on Monday stated: "Whereas, a disciplinary proceeding against CL Meena (Executive Engineer), Rajeev Kumar (Assistant engineer), Jitendra Kumar Tiwari and Pranav Kumar Tripathi (both Junior Engineers) are contemplated and now, therefore, the undersigned, in exercise of power conferred by the Central Civil Services Rules, hereby place the said officials under suspension with immediate effect.

The sources, even, claimed that the officials might be dismissed once detailed investigation reports found them guilty of dereliction of duty." Hours after the second roof collapse incident on Sunday, the Council had announced series of measures with a focus on the structural safety of heritage buildings in CP. "The agency has decided to conduct a survey of vulnerable structures and the emphasis will be on structural safety.

Since two major incidents have been reported this month, the teams will work on a war footing," an NDMC official had informed.

The official had informed to slap notices on the owners of all restaurants and other shops located in heritage buildings. "The Council has also decided to chalk out a foolproof plan for running commercial activities on rooftops, keeping in mind structural safety of all types of structures in the area," he said.

Besides this, NDMC had also ordered to remove generator sets from rooftops and to stop construction of additional portions with immediate effect.

"To strengthen the base of these buildings, the Council will initiate all necessary measures and check irregularities regular inspections will be done by the NDMC departments. Those buildings which were lying vacant will be inspected properly to ensure no business activity could take place. If any lapse is found, the Council will not hesitate to initiate strict action," the official had added.

It may be noted that the open-air rooftop wing of a CP restaurant collapsed on Saturday night, fueling fears about the safety of building in the national Capital. The latest incident was reported at Cafe Unplugged, located at L-Block in the middle circle of the three-ringed signature market that was teeming with a large Saturday crowd. A section of another building had caved in 10 days ago.