Delhi’s fragile foundation: Repeated house collapse, unchecked expansion of the city
The collapse of a building in Saidulajab on Saturday, which killed at least six people, is not an isolated accident. Experts, officials and past records suggest it is a manifestation of a much larger crisis unfolding across Delhi, where hundreds of unauthorised colonies and urban villages are dotted with buildings that flout norms, leaving millions of people vulnerable to disaster in the very houses they live in. NDRF team conduct a rescue operation as the building collapsed in Saidulajab, Saket, on Sunday. (Ishant Chauhan/ HT Photo) The six-storey structure, where two additional floors were allegedly being constructed atop an existing building, came crashing down beside a dining mess frequented by postgraduate students, including doctors and engineers. Locals said the building housed offices and co-working spaces on its lower floors, while construction activity was underway above. Civic officials said the structure stood in an unauthorised colony where no new construction should have been permitted in the first place. “There are no approved layout plans or building plans in this area. It is an unauthorised colony that has …









