The civic body has sealed 21 rooftop restaurants and bars for flouting norms. (Representational photo)
Prompted by two roof collapses in Central Delhi's Connaught Place in a month, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has jumped into action and identified over 900 structures as "dangerous" in the commercial centre.
NDMC has formed a six-member panel, comprising structural safety experts from IIT Delhi, Central Public Works Department, NDMC and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the area, to inspect the collapse sites and ascertain the reasons behind the tragedy.
"We are conducting a safety audit as the collapses have raised questions over the stability of the structures in Connaught Place. Over 900 units have been identified as dangerous. We will issue notices to the owners to either modify the structures, obeying all the safety norms, or face action," a senior NDMC official said.
The civic body had last week sealed 21 rooftop restaurants and bars for flouting norms. According to NDMC norms, terraces or balconies in the heritage buildings cannot be used for any kind of commercial activity.
"The audit team has reported that the terraces were overburdened with the generator sets, furniture, water tanks and other heavy equipment, resulting in the crumbing of old buildings. Seepage, cracks in walls and plaster peels have also weakened the foundation of the buildings," he added.
The roof of a building in the C-block, above Jain Book Store, collapsed on February 2 while another roof of a single-storey building, housing The Unplugged Courtyard (UC) in L-block, collapsed on February 11.