Delhi faces two deadly building disasters, exposing illegal expansions and safety lapses

In June, a fire erupted at a Malviya Nagar boarding house originally licensed for six rooms but reportedly enlarged to 25, killing 23 people and injuring 20, while exposing the absence of fire exits, a locked terrace and missing safety systems. A subsequent magisterial report implicated proprietor Lovkesh Bajaj, the manager and cook, and identified failures by Delhi Police, the municipal corporation, the tourism department and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd to act on stop-work notices.

Three months later, a five-storey building in Satya Niketan collapsed during renovation, killing seven, including five students, after owners allegedly added four floors beyond the foundation’s capacity and packed roughly 45 students into cramped rooms. Police have detained owners Hariram and Urmila Gupta, their son Mahesh Gupta, business partners Shubham Tyagi and Sudhanshu, and a labour contractor. The incidents have spurred the municipal corporation to issue demolition and show-cause notices, launch new surveys of unsafe structures, and announce tighter monitoring of illegal construction, with officials such as Mayor Pravesh Wahi and MCD commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar emphasizing a zero-tolerance stance.