Give Rs 10 lakh each ex gratia to 5 killed in building collapses: Delhi Congress

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) Seeking action against lax officials shielding unauthorised buildings, the Delhi Congress on Saturday demanded Rs 10 lakh each ex gratia for five people killed in two separate building collapses in Seelampur and Azad Market since Friday.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Devender Yadav said that a case should be registered against those responsible for the death of the five people, and a high-level investigation should be held along with action against the guilty.

Four people were killed in the collapse of a two-and-a-half-storey building in Janata Mazdoor Colony, Seelampur, early on Saturday, and another person died when a dilapidated building in Azad Market caved in due to tunnelling.

Yadav said that after the tragic accident, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta did not reach the site of the incident, and this shows her sensitivity towards the people of Delhi.

The Congress President demanded that the Delhi government announce a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of those who died in Seelampur and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured.

He alleged that action has not been taken against those responsible for the death of 11 people when a four-storey building collapsed in Mustafabad on April 19.

Yadav said that the negligence and neglect of the present BJP's triple-engine government and the corruption-ridden government of the previous Aam Aadmi Party are responsible for the collapse of houses in the congested colonies of Delhi.

He said that if a 15-year-old building collapses like a pack of cards, one can imagine how strong the land mafia’s concrete columns were.

The Congress leader said that the BJP and AAP have played with the lives of people by colluding with builders.

He said that the MCD identifies dangerous buildings every year ahead of the monsoon but does not demolish them unless the property owner pays a bribe.

He said that there are dangerous buildings in the Paharganj and Chandni Chowk areas as well as in the whole of Delhi, but no action is taken against them.

Yadav said that in the past 11 years, there has been rampant unauthorised construction in Seelampur and Mustafabad under the patronage of AAP and BJP MLAs, and at present, there is no control over the corruption taking place.

In January, a five-storey under-construction building collapsed in Burari, killing five people and injuring 12, while in April, a four-storey building collapsed in Mustafabad, killing 11 people, he said.

--IANS

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