Delhi PG Survey: Just 1.2% Have Fire NOCs, Only 8 Have Structural Stability Certificates

A week after a five-storey boys’ hostel collapsed in Delhi’s Satya Niketan, killing seven people, a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) survey of 2,453 paying guest (PG) accommodations across the Capital has exposed major gaps in building and fire-safety compliance.

Only 31 PG buildings, or 1.2% of those surveyed so far, have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS). Building plans have been sanctioned for just 726 properties, less than 30% of the total, while only eight buildings have structural stability certificates.

The survey covers properties across all 12 MCD zones and was launched after the Delhi High Court pulled up the civic body on September 7, a day after the Satya Niketan collapse. The MCD has been checking building plans, fire clearances, occupancy certificates, structural stability documents and compliance with the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD).

North Campus Zone Has 608 PGs, But No Structural Certificates

Civil Lines, which includes Delhi University’s North Campus, has the highest number of PG accommodations recorded in the survey at 608. Of these, 364 have sanctioned building plans and only 28 have fire NOCs. Just 27 have regularisation approvals, while none has a structural stability certificate.

Keshav Puram has the second-highest number of PG properties, with 410 buildings surveyed. Only 54 have sanctioned building plans, while two have fire NOCs and two have structural stability certificates. None has an occupancy certificate.

The findings are particularly stark in Delhi’s major education hubs. In the South Zone, which includes institutions such as DU’s South Campus, IIT Delhi and JNU, 390 PG properties were surveyed.

None of the properties in the zone had a DFS clearance, sanctioned building plan, structural stability certificate or occupancy certificate. The survey also found that none of the properties had PG activity recorded as permissible under the Master Plan.

What The MCD Is Checking

The survey examines whether PG buildings have the required regulatory approvals and safety documents. A sanctioned layout or building plan is expected to comply with the MPD and applicable building bye-laws.

Fire clearance is intended to establish that a building meets prescribed safety requirements for its occupancy. The Delhi Fire Service’s fire safety certification includes requirements such as keeping entry, exit and escape routes unobstructed, ensuring occupants know evacuation procedures and maintaining firefighting equipment.

The Satya Niketan building allegedly had only one exit route for escape.

A structural stability certificate establishes that a building can safely withstand the loads and stresses associated with its construction and use. An occupancy certificate, meanwhile, is issued after construction and requires documents including completion plans showing the floors actually constructed, plot dimensions, area and setbacks, photographs and other prescribed records.

Regularisation is a separate process through which certain unauthorised construction or development may be brought into compliance with applicable rules, subject to the relevant policy and prescribed charges.

The Delhi High Court’s deadline for the survey ended Sunday. However, MCD officials said the civic body, which had initially targeted September 10 to complete the exercise, would continue the survey for at least another day before wrapping it up.

The figures collected so far could therefore change as the civic body completes its assessment of PG accommodations across the Capital.