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6 civic engineers suspended in CP roof collapse case

All six held were responsible for checking unauthorised constructions in the area

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Connaught Place
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Following two roof collapses in Connaught Place (CP) within 10 days, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Monday suspended six engineers of its Enforcement-Building Regulation (EBR) Department, responsible for the sealing and demolition of unauthorised constructions in the area. 

The notices of “suspension pending till further enquiry” were served to the officials, on Monday. They include Executive Engineer C L Meena, Assistant Engineer Rajeev Kumar and four junior engineers. 

The first collapse was reported on February 2, which prompted the civic body to seal 21 rooftop restaurants in CP. The second incident took place on Saturday, when the sealed rooftop of popular restobar ‘Unplugged Courtyard’ crashed at 8.15 pm. No casualties were reported in both cases. According to the NDMC Act-1994, rooftops in the area cannot be used for any kind of commercial activity. 

Following the sealing drive, members of the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) and the CP Restaurants Association met NDMC Chairman Naresh Kumar on Monday, seeking clarity on the issue. According to officials, during the meeting, the owners were asked to submit structural stability certificates of their properties, issued by a certified engineering firm, by February-end. 

NDTA Vice-President Vikram Badhwar said: “We are ready to give structural stability certificates. There are only a few buildings that might be dangerous as they have remained vacant for some time now.” He added that the association has requested the civic body to give permission to shop owners for necessary maintenance work in time, without any further delay. Traders said since the permissions were delayed, they were not able to fix many problems, including seepage, which weakened the walls and adjoining structures. 

The permissions are sent to the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) and it could take around six months for them to come through. Restaurant owners are hoping that once the safety audit is done, they will be allowed to resume business on rooftops, as the closure has led to a daily revenue loss of 30-40 per cent. 

Meanwhile, the civic body has formed a team of six experts, including an Engineer from IIT-Delhi, to conduct a comprehensive survey of the heritage buildings in the area.

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