Walled In, No Premium On Lives Here

New Delhi: The recent roof collapse in a house in old Delhi has necessitated once again the urgent need to look at the redevelopment of the historic Walled City. A mother and her two children died when the roof of their dilapidated building in Chandni Mahal collapsed and crushed them to death when asleep.

Though officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi maintain that a survey is regularly done to ascertain buildings in danger, the ground reality is different. When TOI visited the incident site, it found that the building, which local residents claimed was constructed in 1947, was housing more than 11 families and six shops.

“The owner of the building does not live in the vicinity. He did not even come to see what happened to the house,” said Zameer Qasim, an electrician who lives in the building. “Most of the rooms in the building require repairs, but the owner does not help us. He fears we will illegally take over ownership of the rooms.”

Qasim and his family live in one of the rooms. “We know it is dangerous living like this, but we have no option. At least we have a roof over our head despite not paying any rent for the last few years,” he said.

Under Section 348 of the MCD Act, owners of buildings considered to be in a ruinous or dangerous state are allowed to refurbish, replaster or carry out major repairs to render them liveable again. But people say carrying out such work subjects them to harassment by police and officials.

“These rules are only on paper. In the Walled City, most building inhabitants are tenants, not owners of the properties. So, even if they wish to make repairs, the owners do not take responsibility,” said Aale Iqbal, AAP MCD member from Chandni Mahal. “Then there is also the problem of corrupt civic and police officials who demand money for permitting repairs and structural changes. Another problem is that many of the private houses do not have building plans sanctioned by MCD.”

Iqbal, who is contesting for the deputy mayor’s post in MCD, claimed that once he is elected, he will develop a roadmap for sustainable development of the area.

The building whose roof collapsed is deep inside the Chitli Qabar’s Gali Pahadi Rajan, a narrow lane that can only be accessed by foot and two wheelers. Many structures in the area have four floors and more and are almost leaning onto the adjacent building for support. While this is in clear view, an MCD official insisted, “The survey of dangerous buildings is done regularly and permissions are also given for repairs accordingly.”

The local residents and traders have been demanding the implementation of the plans approved by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation in 2020. In 2017, SRDC sent a project titled ‘Revitalisation of Shahjahanabad (Walled City of Delhi)’ for approval to the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. The objective of this project was to improve civic services, redevelop commercial and slum areas, reorganise the commercial areas, and permit adaptive re-use of heritage buildings. Despite repeated reminders from SRDC, however, the ministry’s clearance is pending.

Another proposal to recognise SRDC as 'Special Area Local Planning and Development Authority for Walled City' was submitted to Delhi government through the urban development department and was approved by the urban development and PWD minister. This proposal is now being considered by Delhi Assembly because the change requires legislative assent.

“The situation in old Delhi is deteriorating and so, it is important that an independent authority is immediately formulated for the redevelopment of the entire old Delhi,” said Sanjay Bhargav, president, Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal. “The special area regulations mentioned in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 should be implemented fully.”

The over three-and-half-century-old Walled City’s near collapse had been noted by SRDC in an earlier report. “There is a paucity of funding for heritage building owners for regular maintenance work. There are no incentives like tax redemptions for owners maintaining their heritage property,” the report said.