- 6 weeks ago
A multi-storey paying guest accommodation collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan, resulting in seven fatalities, including five Delhi University students, and injuring five others. The Delhi Chief Minister suspended five Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials, including a deputy commissioner, while police arrested the building owner, Hariram Gupta, alongside his wife and son. The Delhi High Court ordered a high-level probe and directed municipal authorities to inspect all paying guest facilities within a week. Additionally, structural audits were mandated across student hubs such as Mukherjee Nagar, Rajendra Nagar, and Saket. A panel discussion featuring former Urban Development Secretary Dr. Sudhir Krishna addressed systemic municipal corruption, structural violations, and unauthorized constructions in Delhi and Gurugram. The segment also covers an India Today ground report detailing a severe teacher shortage in Himachal Pradesh government schools, where assembly data reveals 150 schools operate without any teachers and over 3,500 rely on a single teacher, prompting recruitment assurances from Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
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NewsTranscript
00:10Good evening, you're watching News Today at 9pm.
00:13I am Preeti Chaudhary.
00:14The big talking points this evening stem from the massive tragedy in Satya Niketan, Delhi.
00:21The Delhi building collapse once again, a rhetorical question.
00:25Who is accountable?
00:26Well, that's something that we ask and seek answers to this time.
00:31Why are our cities death traps?
00:34All of that coming up over the course of the next 45 minutes.
00:38Allow me to take you through the headlines first.
00:43After 27 hours, the rescue operation is over.
00:47Delhi Chief Minister orders a major MCD crackdown.
00:50Five officials, including Deputy Commissioner, axed over the Satya Niketan PG collapse.
00:56Three have been arrested, seven students lost their lives and five remain injured.
01:05Delhi High Court calls for high-level probe into building collapse as MCD DU also responsible for tragedy.
01:12High Court calls the tragedy most unfortunate and says government cannot escape responsibility.
01:22Delhi's Satya Niketan incident triggers a political storm.
01:25Opposition slams the government for not taking responsibility, while the BJP government calls on the opposition's concern, may publicity.
01:38Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while speaking at the Ajatak's defence conclave, said the new Bharat has ended the Panipat syndrome
01:46and is now more proactive in defence.
01:54Fireworks erupted in Tamil Nadu Assembly as Chief Minister Vijay lashed out at the DMK, accusing it of corruption and
02:01manipulation.
02:02Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu, leader of opposition, took on Vijay over delivering movie-punched dialogues.
02:14Black T-shirts, police barricades and a dramatic showdown outside the Telangana Assembly.
02:21BRS leader, including KT Rama Rao, were detained while protesting the Congress government's 1,000 days in office.
02:28KTR alleged police manhandling.
02:36Amidst Punjab government's protest, Justice Ashwini Kumar Mishra takes oath as High Court Chief Justice.
02:43Punjab had objected to his appointment, alleging the state's consultation was bypassed.
02:54MPSC exam paper leaked aspirants' protest in Pune, NCP, Sharad Bawar faction, Congress leaders' back agitation.
03:02The protesters demand the resignation of MPSC chairman and secretary and the immediate appointment of officers.
03:14Nepal floods have killed at least 1,355 people, with nearly 5,000 still missing.
03:21Rescue teams continue the search, while an Indian forensic team processes over 400 DNA samples in Kathmandu.
03:29Around 70 DNA profiles have been identified.
03:42The top story comes in from Satya Niketan, the national capital.
03:46Rescue operations in Delhi to find survivors in the tragedy collapse are over.
03:51Seven are dead in the tragic incident.
03:55Five of them are Delhi University students.
03:57Each of them victims of criminal negligence and dereliction of duty by officials of the MCD, the Delhi Police and
04:06other civic agencies.
04:07Here's the full report.
04:31Seven dead, five battling for life.
04:34The PG building collapse in Delhi has hit homes far beyond the national capital.
04:4218-year-old Arpitjaj, a second-year BCom student, he had just returned to Delhi after Raksha Bandhan in Devas.
04:50He reached at 7 a.m. Sunday.
04:53Hours later, the building collapsed.
04:56His parents kept calling.
04:57But his phone was switched off.
05:24And while one family waited desperately for news,
05:27another was about to receive the worst news.
05:3117-year-old Pawan, a first-year B.Sc. Computer Science student at Motilal Nehru College.
05:38The only brother to four sisters.
05:41Today, his family home is filled with mourners.
06:10And in Kattani, 19-year-old Akshat Yadav,
06:14a BCom student at Delhi University, the only son of his parents.
06:19He was pulled from the debris of robbers of rescue, rushed to hospital, but could not be saved.
06:45They came to Delhi for education, and a future.
06:49Instead, Delhi gave their families a tearful goodbye.
06:52Behind every number, in a death toll, there is a face that will never come home.
06:59And a family shattered.
07:02Bureau Report, India Today.
07:07The lives of these young students, their dreams, their ambitions, what they hoped for their future,
07:14too heavy for the city to uphold, the infrastructure of the city.
07:20I just want to give our viewers a data figure.
07:23There are 7 lakh students who study in Delhi University who come from outside,
07:29all across the country, come to Delhi to study, 7 lakhs of them from outside.
07:33And they study in Delhi University.
07:36The number of hostels that Delhi has to offer them are 7,000 seats.
07:41Over 100 young kids who come in from all states to study in Delhi, chasing their dreams.
07:48Why?
07:49For one hostel seat, leaving no other option but to get into PGs,
07:54paying guests like these, accommodations like these.
07:57And each one of them, a 10 feet by 10 feet room, shared by two people,
08:02to a total cost of 30,000 rupees.
08:05I want to cut across right now to Ayushman Sharma.
08:08He's a student of PJDV College.
08:11He's a good friend of Akshat who perished in this tragedy.
08:16Ayushman, thank you for taking the time out and joining us at a time
08:22where I'm sure you're devastated with the loss of your friend.
08:27Ayushman, can you take us through what really happened?
08:30What did you get to know?
08:31Have you spoken to the family of Ayushman?
08:34Because when we were speaking to them this morning,
08:37understandably devastated beyond words.
08:41First up, Ayushman, I am sorry.
08:43There's a complete loss of words.
08:44I don't know what to say to you,
08:46how to make you feel better because there is no other way.
08:52Yeah, I feel very devastated.
08:54In fact, now onwards, when I was watching this graphics and all,
08:59my heart was bouncing very fast.
09:02I could not slow down myself and my grief towards my friend Akshat.
09:09In fact, we didn't know each other personally, not much now.
09:14And we had an interaction, very great interaction with each other like two or three times.
09:21Speaking about the event, it was a Sunday, a very cool Sunday.
09:26Me and my seniors were out around the college in the PJs of my batchmates and all.
09:34And suddenly we heard from them that a building in the Satya Niketan was collapsed.
09:40We, with my seniors, rushed towards that site
09:44and tried to gather information as much as possible
09:48that how much people and how much students were affected.
09:51And in the meantime, our admin from the colleges messaged us
09:57that one of our students, who was Akshat, was also affected in this incident too.
10:04Then I rushed with his photo towards the helping team, the rescue team and the NDRF
10:10to search about him and gather information that if he's safe,
10:15if he's evacuated from the site.
10:17Then some of the rescue teams misguided us that they have found them
10:23and safely rescued to the AIMS trauma center.
10:27But at night, when we tried to contact the trauma center
10:31and we tried to speak about that the patient named Akshat or his photo is there or admitted,
10:40they were told there was no one.
10:43Only six bodies came and no one was identifiable.
10:48And the whole night, me with my seniors and with my colleagues,
10:54we were all trying our best to collect his information,
10:57gather his information about his relative and background, but we couldn't.
11:03There were news that he's safe, that he's admitted,
11:06but we didn't believe until unless we confirmed it from our side.
11:10Then in the morning, nine o'clock, me with my two seniors went to the trauma center by us
11:16and we tried to contact their parents, but that was the time we couldn't reach them.
11:34We tried to convince them that we are friends and we are the colleagues,
11:39so we can identify them, but they were saying that no,
11:42until and unless their parents confirmed, you cannot do anything.
11:44So we waited there for nearly four hours.
11:49And then we were just about to leave that a call came from a known staff.
11:54He said that Akshat's parents have reached the trauma center and they have identified a body.
12:01We rushed and we were happy to see that it was not called the body, but the patient itself.
12:09So we were happy that we found a friend, we found a mate and we rushed.
12:13And I happily asked out of eager that where he's admitted and all.
12:17And suddenly the officer told that my son is no more.
12:24I am sorry to hear your story, Ayushman.
12:28It must be trying for you and your friends and the devastation that has befallen the family
12:33of your friend Akshat.
12:37You know, one can't even elucidate or put in words.
12:40But I want to ask you, Ayushman, because you were there,
12:42do you think the authorities acted in time?
12:45Do you think the rescue operations were carried out as they should have been?
12:50Were there enough people on ground?
12:52Do you think Akshat's life could have been saved if there was prompt action?
12:57What did you see because you were there once the building had collapsed?
13:04We received the information at around 1.30.
13:08We tried our best and we reached there by 4 o'clock.
13:12And we saw that only Delhi Police was deployed.
13:16And the locals were continuously engaged in excavating, evacuating all the students
13:23and all the affected members.
13:24And we were heavily depressed and all.
13:29After seeing that the five-story building was collapsed and there were no NDRF or no other
13:36rescuing forces arrived.
13:38Only the five brigades and some ambulance were at the site.
13:44And we also tried our best to rescue and to help the rescuing team also.
13:50So you're saying there was nobody on site for up to how long, Ayushman?
13:55I cannot confirm this by how much hour because we were too late.
14:02Okay.
14:02And when you reached there, there were only locals who were helping extract?
14:07Locals and the Delhi Police also.
14:10And some of the staff members of NDRF were there.
14:14NDRF were there.
14:16All right.
14:17Ayushman, thank you for joining us this evening.
14:20And I am really sorry for your loss.
14:24No worries.
14:25Thank you, Ayushman.
14:27I want to just quickly move on, viewers.
14:30The man accused of turning this building into a death trap, Hariram Gupta, has now been arrested.
14:36His wife and son have also been arrested.
14:38Five MCD officials have also been suspended.
14:42And the High Court has ordered a high-level probe along with safety inspections of PGs across
14:47civic bodies' jurisdiction.
14:49But there is one underlying question that remains over how construction was allowed in the building.
14:56The MCD claims it had received no complaints about the building.
14:59Will the crackdown finally lead to better enforcement of safety norms?
15:04Will it make the MCD answerable?
15:07Will, instead of suspension sacking, take place where the MCD is concerned?
15:11Because anyone in this city who has dealt with the municipal cooperation of Delhi knows better
15:17on how corrupt the system is.
15:21The MCD, for most Delhiites, is the most corrupt department, not the municipal cooperation
15:27department.
15:48This is merely one among a string of tragedies in the capital that have time and again raised
15:53the question.
15:58A Delhi safety rules only on paper.
16:01How many children!
16:04God!
16:06God!
16:06God!
16:12God!
16:14God!
16:15For twenty-four hours since the PG building collapsed in Satyaniketan,
16:19it's owner Hariram Gupta has been arrested.
16:22He was picked up from Biwari near Gurugram following an extensive manhunt.
16:27Hariram's wife Urmila & son Mahesh have also been arrested.
16:50The high court has ordered a high-level investigation into the incident, saying a system endangering
16:56students' lives cannot be accepted under any circumstances.
17:01The court directed the Delhi civic body to inspect all PG hostels under his jurisdiction
17:06within a week.
17:09The Chief Minister's office has said that other PG's in the area are being inspected and
17:15any building found violating safety norms will face immediate action.
17:43After the tragic incident, the MCD has ordered the demolition of the building adjacent to
17:48the collapsed PG in Satyaniketan, citing its ruinous, dangerous condition.
17:53The civic body directed the owner to demolish the property within three days, warning that
17:58if the order is not complied with, the building would be demolished by the MCD.
18:05Residents of the PG building have claimed construction work was going on in the building when it collapsed.
18:10The MCD however claimed there was no complaint against the building that collapsed.
18:30Meanwhile, five MCD officials have been suspended with immediate effect.
18:35They are Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kumar, Superintendent Engineer Ranveer Singh, Executive Engineer Lalit
18:42Kumar, Assistant Engineer Sunil Chauhan and Junior Engineer Ashish Kumar.
18:48But the real test for authorities is whether safety rules will finally be enforced before another
18:53disaster strikes.
18:57With Arvind Doja, Bureau Report, India Today.
19:07All right, there's more news break coming in where orders for structural audits of all existing PG's in Delhi have
19:14been given out.
19:15Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered structural audits of all paying guest accommodation currently operational in the capital.
19:25Special focus will be placed on areas such as Mukherjee Nagar, Rajendra Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar, Satyaniketan and Sakit.
19:33So all PG accommodation, paying guest accommodation across the city will be audited on the orders of the Chief Minister.
19:43Some might call it too little too late, but will an audit actually lead to tangible results is a question
19:50that beckons to be asked,
19:52because this is not the first time an audit has been ordered.
19:55But the Delhi Chief Minister now ordering an audit of all PG accommodations across the national capital,
20:02stressing on certain areas which are inhabited where students of the national capital are concerned,
20:08like Mukherjee Nagar, Satyaniketan, Rajendra Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar and Sakit.
20:14All right, with that, the big questions that we ask tonight as we move on to our panelists.
20:19The MCD once again caught napping viewers.
20:23The MCD is one department in the national capital where anyone who has dealt with this department knows
20:30that it's a department that thrives, survives on cuts, on looking the other way,
20:37just for the virtue of a little bit of money, where most call it the most corrupt department.
20:42The other question we ask, will anyone be held accountable or where mere suspensions that have taken place with the
20:51MCD be enough?
20:52And why are our cities turning into death traps?
20:56Who will break this corruption nexus?
20:59Does the MCD as a unit need to completely be dismantled?
21:04Because this clearly is not the first oversight.
21:08Joining me this evening, Dr. Kiran Bedi, former IPS Officer and former Lieutenant Governor,
21:15Deekshu Kukreja, Architect, Urban Designer, Environmentalist, Managing Principal at CP Kukreja Architects,
21:23Gauri Sarveen, Founder, Making Model Guru Gram, Living Without Medicine,
21:28Dr. Sudhir Krishna, former Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development,
21:32Yashavardhan Azad, former IPS Officer.
21:35I want to begin with Dr. Bedi first.
21:37Dr. Bedi, I just want to take you through over the last eight months
21:40the kind of tragedies and complete violation of norms that we have seen that have led to deadly disasters.
21:47We've had the Malwia Nagar fire, we've had the Sakit building collapse,
21:51we've had Mustafa building collapse, flooding at a coaching centre in old Rajendra Nagar.
21:57Why is it that over and over again, month by month, there's one tragedy after the other,
22:02but Delhi refuses to learn its lessons?
22:06Because we don't attend to the root cause.
22:10What are the possible root causes? And who knows the root causes?
22:14Has anybody analyzed the root causes?
22:17Have we engaged a professional agency to understand why is MCD considered the most corrupt department?
22:27Why?
22:28What are its processes which cause these problems?
22:32And why is it still always a problem and never a solution?
22:36So, exceptionally, it may be work in exceptional cases.
22:40But generally, that's the public perception.
22:43Why is this perception prevailing?
22:46Why isn't it functional?
22:48Why is it not preventable?
22:51Why are we working in silos?
22:55Why?
22:56I think, has anybody understood?
22:57Why not engage a professional management agency to let us know within a week or 10 days what is basically
23:05wrong with this corporation,
23:06which is the key to urban development of the city?
23:11So, I think we have not addressed the root causes.
23:13And you and I are only talking about corruption.
23:16What about other lack of processes?
23:19Are the officers of the MCDA being given tasks to do daily from senior to junior?
23:30Are they visible?
23:31Are they accessible?
23:33Are they trusted?
23:35Are they effective?
23:37I think that's a problem.
23:39We need to answer.
23:40The problem is we are not preventive.
23:44We are all reacting all the time.
23:46And that's why we crime.
23:48It's reaction after reaction after reaction and not prevention.
23:53Task the commissioners MCD.
23:55Task the DCPs.
23:57Task the junior engineers to be out on the ground every day.
24:00Pick up your own areas.
24:02And number two, task the elected representatives.
24:06Task them also.
24:07The corporators, the MLAs, the MPs.
24:09Are they walking the streets?
24:11Why not?
24:12If you imagine.
24:14Imagine if all of them are walking the streets on a daily basis for one hour together, inspecting
24:20things by surprise.
24:21Any area, your footpaths will be cleared.
24:25Your garbage will be cleared.
24:27And these buildings will now scamper to make it possible.
24:31One thing more before you move on to another panelist.
24:34Do you know?
24:35We are already, already creating problems.
24:40When you are asking for fourth floor and fourth floor allowed or fifth floor allowed.
24:44What's happening?
24:45The earlier buildings were built only for three floors.
24:48How are you building the fourth floor and fifth floor?
24:51Which foundation will take them?
24:52It's happening right under our eyes.
24:56Our buildings, when you are reconstructing or adding, our buildings, our buildings are getting
25:03the earthquake tremors.
25:05We have nowhere to go.
25:06So our buildings' lives are also being shortened.
25:10So when it collapses one day, faster, earlier, it will be the reason.
25:15We are allowing additional floors without, and how would you know, correct the foundations?
25:23So I would say these, before you go to the other panelists, I wanted to highlight these issues.
25:28Fair point, ma'am.
25:30You know, I'm going to come right back to you as well.
25:32Let me just cut across to some of our other panelists, because in all of this, viewers,
25:35I just want to, you know, digress, but it's a part of the same conversation.
25:40The development plan of Delhi was released just two weeks ago.
25:45Wixit Delhi development plan, which was going to be how Delhi will develop over the next 20 years.
25:50And if you read the fine print in that, most colonies now have been given a sub-commercial setup.
25:58Now what will that lead to?
25:59Something that we are witnessing, even at a larger scale.
26:02So that's just a point.
26:03Because you might have the authorities say what they do right now, but they really, on the other hand,
26:08passing rules, which will never be followed.
26:11And what will happen is abject exploitation.
26:14I want to bring in Mr. Razad into this conversation.
26:17And I want to go back, Mr. Razad, to May 30th, where six people were killed
26:21when an unauthorized building in South Delhi's Sahib Dhu Lajab collapsed.
26:26A subsequent magisterial inquiry concluded that there were definite grave lapses by the MCD.
26:33There was corruption involved.
26:34Meaningful enforcement action did not follow.
26:38The question that I want to ask you, Mr. Razad, is,
26:41because every time you will have one department pass the buck to the other that we did our job,
26:46but this department did not.
26:48Is it time that there be a legally defined chain of responsibility
26:53that no agency can simply say that enforcement was somebody else's job?
26:58Should we now have a legally defined chain of responsibility?
27:03You can certainly have that.
27:05And one should do it in a management style.
27:08But I don't think the problem will stop with that.
27:11You remember when we were discussing the basement tragedy
27:15with the Coaching Institute, where every kind of culpability was observed
27:23on the part of the MCD, on the part of the Institute, on the part of the contractor and everyone.
27:28And there was a committee which was constituted, and the CM only said that we will look into it.
27:34That was the time to look into all such places, whether they were the Coaching Institutes
27:38or whether they were the buildings of this kind.
27:41The Lucknow fight tragedy which came and which again killed youngsters,
27:45there was again a kind of announcement that it will be across the board.
27:50And I thought Supreme Court should take it up that wherever students are there,
27:54whether in Kota, whether, you know, in Delhi, whether all over,
27:57they're living in hovels, they're living in absolute, you know,
28:02dire conditions which should be rectified.
28:05But given that, let me tell you, there are two things which are very, very clear.
28:09One is the misgovernance and the other is the lack of political will.
28:12Ultimately, you know, have you seen the councillors doing anything
28:16except jumping around on the tables of the MCD assembly?
28:21Have they done anything else of note?
28:23They know almost everything of the particular area.
28:27Have they ever come up with any kind of a solution
28:29or naming any kind of a building or suggesting any kind of revisions?
28:34No. There can't be an implementation.
28:36If you remember the fire tragedy in Malweanagar,
28:39even the Damkal, the fire Damkal could not enter that place.
28:44So everything is known, Preeti.
28:47It's not that it's not known.
28:49No, of course.
28:51Mr. Asad, either in MCD, everybody knows.
28:54I think who, you know, and you'd stand testimony to it.
28:56We all know you go to the MCD, they either have a cut
29:00or you slip them some money under the table, they look the other way.
29:04Absolutely. And that's exactly what I say.
29:06It is the political will.
29:08It is the corruption which oils and lubricates the system.
29:13And unless somebody attacks it, nothing is going to happen.
29:16I'm happy that these five people have been suspended,
29:19but I hope at least they are dismissed.
29:21But the fear of God is instilled in these people.
29:24Because, you know, each and everything is known.
29:28If on the 55 square yard you make four floors
29:31and the basement is being, you know, re-buttressed
29:36and the load-bearing pillar is shifted,
29:39there is the culpable homicide charge
29:42which should be against the contractor
29:43because he knew exactly what was happening.
29:45Right.
29:45And to the owner itself.
29:48You know, fair point.
29:48I'd like to bring in Mr. Radha, Dr. Sudhir Krishna.
29:52He's the former secretary, Ministry of Urban Development.
29:55And Mr. Krishna, the question is, where does the buck stop?
29:58Because I'll give you an example.
30:00It's not just the MCD.
30:01It's a whole system of malaise
30:05which completely refuses to address the situation.
30:08We have somebody on the same panel, Mr. Krishna,
30:12Ms. Gauri Sareen, who had written, you know,
30:14and submitted a policy paper on regulation of paying guests
30:18for consideration by civic and urban development authority
30:21which clearly underlines the unregulated growth of PGs
30:26across Gurugram.
30:27Now that was, I think she's documented Gurugram.
30:30But what did the urban development authorities do?
30:34Absolutely nothing, Mr. Krishna.
30:37Well, I think in Delhi there is a proper policy.
30:41Earlier there was an act also.
30:42There was a law which was enacted, I think, 20 years ago.
30:47But recently, last month, they have repealed that law.
30:50I do not know the good reason for that.
30:52Anyhow, there is a policy for the bed and breakfast scheme.
30:57And that has got some good features.
30:59I cannot say it is ideal, but good features.
31:02So, I don't think that rules are missing.
31:06And even the building structural safety, the MCD Act provides,
31:09enough provisions are there.
31:12Empowering the commissioner to get the buildings,
31:15unsafe buildings inspected and give direction to the owner
31:18to rectify the weakness.
31:20Otherwise, in a given time,
31:22failing which corporations shall do it and recover the cost.
31:25But, sir, I don't think the question is about the absence of rules.
31:29The absence of rules are there.
31:30You said there was a law which has been taken off,
31:32but the rules are there.
31:33It's not about the absence of rules.
31:35It's actually more about the absence of sustained coordinated action,
31:38which never follows.
31:40It is not followed in many places.
31:44But, you know, Delhi has a unique position.
31:45The problems are there in almost every city, almost every state.
31:49But Delhi has got a unique position in the whole country
31:52as far as the city of Delhi or the NCT.
31:54NCT and city both are the same here.
31:57So, it is because there are too many vertical, high-powered structures
32:00that are having power of managing the affairs of Delhi.
32:05Whether it is the Home Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,
32:08they have created a new full-fledged department of NCR Affairs.
32:12And then there is a lieutenant governor,
32:14there is a DDA, and there is a Delhi government,
32:16the government of NCT of Delhi,
32:18the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
32:19And then, you see, they all are parallel.
32:22There is nobody responsible to other and so on.
32:25So, it is a complicated situation for Delhi.
32:27So, everyone basically passes the buck to the other department.
32:30But, Dr. Krishna, I want to ask you another question.
32:32Because we might be sitting here and debating the current context.
32:36While we are already looking to pass Master Plan Delhi for Vixit Master Plan Delhi 2046,
32:43where you speak about the height of structures,
32:45where there is a provision in the new master plan that if your building is next to our,
32:50over a nine-meter road, twelve-meter road, you can actually build five floors.
32:54And you've also included the fact in the master plan that is coming up,
32:58which goes on to suggest that there could be mixed commercial usage in residential areas.
33:04What are we really looking at?
33:06Because then, what you're doing is you're hunting with the hare and running with the hounds.
33:10Because at the same time, you're giving a free pass for everyone to exactly go down this path,
33:17and then coming on camera. Not you, sir.
33:19But the likes of, you know, the Delhi Chief Minister and other authorities come on camera and say,
33:25what's happened is terrible.
33:26But then, you're amplifying it. You're engaging in it.
33:30Well, I'm not trying to escape.
33:32I was part of the government, and I continue to believe in some way I feel responsible.
33:37But having said that, I think the officers have got a great role to play.
33:42Unfortunately, I do not know what is happening.
33:43The officers are now going behind the curtain, and we all the time see the political leaders here.
33:49Everybody has a role to play.
33:50But in municipal corporation affairs, the Delhi Corporation Act, if you read,
33:56and every municipal corporation in the country, right or wrong,
33:59it is a municipal commissioner who is the director of the show.
34:02And so, that is how it is in our country, not other countries.
34:05Elsewhere, you see, mayor is boss.
34:06If you go to New York, if you go to Russia or Moscow or Shanghai, mayor is the real boss.
34:12But here, it is not so.
34:14In reality, the commissioners.
34:15So, I fail to understand what is making the commissioners, you know, resile.
34:20Resile from exercising their power.
34:21You mentioned certain challenges in the Delhi master plan.
34:24You see, if we read carefully, the plan would have made provisions to do things right way.
34:29But you have to do something, you know.
34:31So, I appeal.
34:31Through this channel, I appeal to the officers, municipal commissioner and his team,
34:35the development authority, the vice chairman and his team,
34:39to, you know, rise to the occasion.
34:41They have got enough power.
34:42You see, Bombay commissioner, that lady is doing wonderful work in a short few months' time.
34:46She has earned name.
34:47Everybody is reciting her name, right.
34:49Right.
34:49People want to follow good officer.
34:51They want to respect law.
34:52But, you know, somebody has to take the lead.
34:54No, you know, everyone wants to respect law, Dr. Krishna.
34:57And I am sorry, because I know you have served in the ministry
34:59and you have become pretty much the punching bag on this show.
35:01But nobody really does it.
35:03And that's the sad part.
35:04If the Delhi government today, if the DDA today, really wants to be serious about walking their talk,
35:10then tear up the Delhi master plan and draw up a completely new one.
35:14And make fresh rules, sir.
35:16And I think let's just begin with that.
35:18Gauri Sareen, you want to come in?
35:19Go ahead, ma'am.
35:19You had written to the development authorities in Gurgaon on the unregulated PG's in Gurugram.
35:26Make your point.
35:27Yes.
35:28So this is in the context of what has been happening in Gurugram and which is really relevant
35:33in all tier one cities where there's migrant population, there's a huge student population,
35:37and there is also huge working professionals population.
35:41And all these three sets of people are living in human settlements, sometimes unauthorized colonies,
35:47sometimes licensed colonies with absolutely unauthorized structures, which is really causing the problem.
35:54Now, Gurgaon was given the mandate.
35:56And I'm giving an example of Gurgaon because the PG's issue happened here right now.
36:00It is rife right now.
36:02Just about a month ago, there was a complete crackdown on PG's, which were illegal, unauthorized,
36:09and there was a huge backlash on that.
36:14Now, when the backlash actually happened, people said that, hey, where will the students go?
36:21I was sitting with a town and country planning head who was doing this under high court orders,
36:27and he showed me some pictures which told the entire story.
36:32He says, tomorrow, if anything happens in any of these PG's, and mind you, I'm just sharing this very, very
36:38consciously,
36:39the students or the people staying here will not be able to evacuate.
36:43There is no evacuation plan.
36:47There is no fire NOC.
36:50These people will never be able to get out.
36:52And I wanted to really emphasize on the evacuation piece here, which somehow has been missing in the entire discussion.
37:00I've been following it through the day, Preeti.
37:02And I noticed that people are talking about response of teams and agencies and structural audits.
37:07But nobody is talking about the fact that the building may be unsafe in itself because it is not built
37:13the right way.
37:14But where is the evacuation policy? How is a building allowed to keep students or anyone for that matter without
37:22a proper evacuation plan?
37:24That's A.
37:25Second is that the ministry, the Mahua ministry has been talking about low cost housing.
37:30It's been talking about all kinds of things.
37:32It's time that all tier one cities, not just Delhi, not just Gurgaon, but all tier one cities has a
37:38proper PG plan policy in place, which is executed properly.
37:43It has a working population as a rental policy.
37:46I've been talking to builders and they said the government has been talking about it, but nothing comes on the
37:50ground.
37:51It's time we have a reasonably set out policy, which can be executed by builders so that norms are followed.
38:00I think this is really need of the hour right now.
38:03Thirdly, as I think sir was mentioning, you know, we are building when builders build one floor after another floor
38:11on an original building, which may be meant only for three months.
38:15We are three floors. We are actually creating a huge debt trap, which is really what has happened in this
38:21particular case.
38:23Last but not the least, I think that, you know, the time has really come for us to think very
38:30seriously about urban misgovernance.
38:31I think we all started that. Where is the problem? Is it corruption?
38:35But if you're going to point fingers on the agency, remember, all these agencies are driven by political interests.
38:41And until we are able to question the politicians out there behind it, who are running, many of them are
38:46running these shows, actually.
38:48You go to the villages, there are about 900 rooms which have been sealed.
38:53And I was asking the town and country planning head, I said, how many more are there?
38:57He says, there's so many, not just in licensed and unlicensed colonies, but they are all over the villages, which
39:03are in the middle of the city.
39:05And MCG is responsible for that. And there's the same story everywhere.
39:10So how are we going to really take care without a proper policy?
39:16I don't agree that the MCG should be responsible.
39:18I believe there should be another agency which is responsible for the uptake of the buildings,
39:24who need to ensure there's regulation on these buildings when they're made.
39:27They're not, these buildings don't have OCs, they don't have, they're not following FAR rules, they're not having approvals.
39:34It is a very, very serious issue.
39:36And also, you know, have a legally defined chain of command that one department doesn't pass the buck to the
39:44other and say that it's not my job, it was his job, we did ours.
39:47Dikshu Kukreja, with the visuals that you have seen, and what Satya Niketan really is, it's, you know, this is
39:54not just one building.
39:55The entire area is this building there, waiting to collapse.
39:59Low hanging wires, buildings that are not built on girdles, there is no safety evacuation, no fire exit, absolutely nothing.
40:08We've been talking to students, Mr. Kukreja, 10 by 10 feet, two kids crammed in matchbox rooms.
40:21Sure. So, finally, the planner gets to speak something.
40:26I have very carefully heard the other panelists, and rather than going and repeating myself on all the different perspectives
40:34that have come here,
40:35whether it has to do with MCD, whether it has to do with the master plan of Delhi, or the
40:40other aspects that have been spoken about.
40:41Let me then touch upon something different, which has not yet been discussed.
40:46And I'm going to say here that it's about community awareness. It's about citizen participation.
40:52Of course, we know what MCD is all about. Of course, we know that there's complete civic apathy.
40:57Of course, we know that not even five percent of the seven and a half million households built environment that
41:05is sitting in Delhi is actually having occupancy certificates.
41:09Those are the kind of horrifying statistics. And this is Delhi we are talking about, a city which a lot
41:15of other Indian cities try to emulate.
41:17So if this is the situation here, you know, you can only shut it and think what's happening in the
41:22rest of the country.
41:23But what I'm going to say here is that it's important that each one of us decides that, you know,
41:29we need to fix certain things ourselves as well.
41:31And by that, I mean that when we see illegal stuff happening in our neighborhood, when we see that there
41:37are dangerous buildings coming up, yes, we can go and report to the authority.
41:41But just the way I saw crowds converging at this tragic site in Satya Niketan, the same way we can
41:49come together and make sure that these kind of illegal activities do not happen.
41:54Because they are not only a danger to the greedy private owners who are doing that.
41:59But, you know, Mr. Kukreja, the fact is today, I think the citizens have gotten sick of the owners being
42:06passed on to them for everything.
42:08It's not their job. There should be active, you know, active citizenry. Everyone should be responsible. But it is really
42:15not their job.
42:17And the people who are supposed to do their job are not doing it. We are paying them taxes to
42:21do that.
42:22I completely agree with you. They are not doing their job. But are we going to sit and only discuss
42:27and, you know, worry about that?
42:29We've worried enough. We've lost enough lives. The opening report of your bureau, which was there, was really so tragic
42:38about how those young kids with dreams that their parents have sent them to Delhi to study,
42:44how they've got through Delhi University in that competitive environment, which is another story that we keep discussing.
42:50And here we are paying out of their, you know, I mean, paying out of their pocket.
42:5415,000 rupees, because most parents, you know, that's the fact, because we've been talking to a lot of kids
42:59through the day.
43:01Getting a flat with four kids is cheaper, viewers, much cheaper than what they really are paying.
43:06But if you're a parent of a 17, 18, 19 year old, you wouldn't want your child and your kids
43:11to stay in a flat, unregulated.
43:13So you put them in a PG. You put them in a PG where they're paying 15,000 for a
43:1710 by 10 feet room who they share with another kid.
43:22So you're hoping he'll be safe there. And this is what really happens.
43:27And the figures that we are looking at are astounding.
43:29Seven lakh students study in Delhi University that come in from across the country.
43:34How many hostel spots are there? 7,000.
43:37Do the math. Over 100 kids from across the country. Why?
43:41For one spot of a hostel seat.
43:44And some of them can't even afford that if you do the math.
43:46I want to give all of you just about 20, 30 seconds to wrap up your submissions.
43:51And we'll need to move on. But Dr. Bedi, if you need to find tangible solutions,
43:56if you're not again going to get into rhetorical questions of how terrible our city is,
44:00and we are a death trap, who's responsible?
44:02If there are tangible solutions, what are we really looking at?
44:05Because if I can actually see, in my eyes, Delhi, DDA, and the government needs to tear up the master
44:12plan.
44:12You want to work towards it? Show that you have the stomach to do it.
44:17One of the things without any repetition.
44:20One is contractors should be licensed.
44:23Are they ever oriented towards safety regulations?
44:28They only bring migrant laborers to work on this, who have no idea of safety.
44:34They only carry out the orders of the contractors and the subcontractors.
44:39Can there be a policy for how do you license these contractors? Number one.
44:44Number two, what about the university?
44:46University should know. University should ask for PG ships. People should apply.
44:54And then the university should register them, put the conditions on them, and have them as authorized PGs.
45:03And students then could be sent to the following PG, which are now cleared by the university.
45:09And also the university should know where are the students staying for safety sake.
45:14These are my points.
45:16Mr. Razad, you know, would you want to come in on that?
45:19Because now, you know, there is a law that you can't build a floor if you can't prove parking.
45:23Should these colleges keep coming up, mushrooming across the capital, and not have the prerequisite hostel facilities, which they really
45:32should?
45:32Should that be now legalized?
45:35So that's exactly the point. You know, there is no point talking about rules and provisions.
45:41I'll give you a very simple example.
45:43What was the kind of a master plan which was made on Press Enclave Road, which is fully encroached on
45:48one side,
45:49and on the other side, there are five hospitals, there are four malls, and there are the district courts.
45:54So the entire area of Saket is completely blocked off, and I had to literally run away from that place
46:00and find another accommodation.
46:02So my point again and again is the same thing.
46:05It's rank corruption, number one, lack of political will, and third-rate political leadership backed by a spineless,
46:14bureaucratic network and leaders who just do not do their job.
46:19So unless you do something about it, what can we do?
46:24The people should raise these things on the platforms in a vociferous manner.
46:29And that's why what CJP is doing, I totally support them.
46:33They have done something about the schools.
46:36Nothing will happen here because the implementation...
46:38Mr. Kukreja is suggesting the same.
46:40Mr. Kukreja is suggesting the same, that you need to come out and start protesting.
46:44But the fact is how much...
46:46Yes.
46:46We are just tired now.
46:47You know, 30% of our money is going into taxes.
46:50If these guys are not pulling their weight and doing their job, how much can you keep protesting as well,
46:55Mr. Razal?
46:55They did something in Rajasthan and the Rajasthan government had to allocate a budget of 1,000 crore to change
47:01the schools.
47:02Do you know in 2022, the same thing happened in Satya Niketan.
47:06There was no implementation.
47:08Yes.
47:08If you have a structural audit, it should be with a timeline that who are the people rightly, you know,
47:14involved.
47:15True.
47:15Yeah.
47:15You're right.
47:16Dr. Krishna, final comment, sir.
47:18...politics.
47:19I think I would suggest a little different thing, solving the problem.
47:24We require visionary leadership in the bureaucracy primarily because schemes are there.
47:29There is a wonderful scheme called Accelerated Rental Housing Scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Avas Yojana for Urban Areas.
47:36And under that scheme, rental housing can be developed in PPP mode by private developers.
47:43For whom?
47:45For students, for migrant workers and people who visit the city for, you know, a few weeks or a few
47:51months' time, like pilgrims or like for medical treatment purposes and so on.
47:56It's a wonderful scheme.
47:58Private entrepreneurs will get opportunity, you know, to do good business.
48:01Who's going to regulate it, Dr. Krishna?
48:03Who is going to regulate this scheme?
48:05We'll be sitting here in two years and talking about a building collapse under the same scheme.
48:09Yeah, let me go.
48:11So, in that scheme, the provision is that government and the developer, government will approve the structure and the arrangements
48:20and also the rent.
48:22Rent amount also.
48:23And it will be a proper project.
48:25But, Dr. Krishna, the government is supposed to regulate what we've seen collapse here as well.
48:29It's the same thing.
48:30It's the government's job.
48:32Different departments of the government, I understand.
48:34And I understand it's a bureaucratic reply or a bureaucratic solution to what we're really debating.
48:40But what we really need is something radical, sir.
48:42Radical means then either, as was said about you take to street.
48:47That is one radical approach.
48:48But what I'm saying is a way where society can remain stable.
48:52We have got resources.
48:53We have got manpower.
48:54What we are missing is the willpower.
48:56Okay.
48:57Manpower is there.
48:57Willpower is not there.
48:58I appeal to all the officers who are watching your channel, senior officers particularly.
49:04There is no point in troubling or suspending junior engineers and so on.
49:07Manpower is there.
49:08Integrity is not there.
49:09Other than just willpower.
49:11Gauri Sareen, make your point.
49:12Yeah.
49:13So I just want to summarize, you know, three or four aspects.
49:17And I want to bring in the education ministry here.
49:19I think somebody's already talked about it.
49:21I think it's time that the education ministry gets very serious about students.
49:26We already saw that there was an attack on them against CJP on suicides and the paper leakage.
49:31It's time they get very, very serious about the safety, hygiene and the living standards of students that they're attracting
49:39in thousands and thousands in any city of India with Delhi being the focus right now.
49:44So I think education ministry has to play a very important role.
49:47It's not just about MCD.
49:49It's not about just, you know, a master plan.
49:51That's second.
49:53Again, I'm repeating that there needs to be a government policy on PG zones, on PG regulation, on rental accommodation.
50:01I'm adding to the point which sir has already made.
50:04I think it is really time.
50:07They do it.
50:07Builders are really waiting for a PPP model.
50:10They want something like this to come up.
50:12And in all tier one cities, this is a dire need.
50:15Otherwise, we are going to be are all living in seismic zones.
50:18This entire NCR area is in a seismic sensitive zone.
50:23Tomorrow, there's an earthquake which hits us.
50:25All these will collapse like cars.
50:28Let's be very sensitive to what might happen in the future.
50:31What has happened is a great warning for us and let's work towards it.
50:35Third is that disaster preparedness has to be a lot better.
50:39There are enough people saying that the response times are very low.
50:42Evacuation systems are not right.
50:44We really need to get that on the ground.
50:46And fourth is wherever these PG's or any of these buildings have been made,
50:51infrastructure has to be in place.
50:52It's the need of the hour.
50:54If it is not MCD which can deliver or a municipal corporation,
50:58we need to have another body for it if required.
51:01You know, it's said history often offers a warning
51:04and history has often warned us enough.
51:07There have been six building collapses in the last one year in Delhi viewers.
51:11So we've been warning us once again.
51:13Yeah, yeah.
51:14Dr. Bedi, yes, make your point.
51:15And then I'll go to Mr. Kukreja.
51:16One last point is MCD should be put under a third party audit, financial audit.
51:23It cannot be just CAG.
51:26MCD's finances should be independently audited.
51:30Once you start doing that, three-fourths of the money will go back to the people.
51:35So let's go in not Sarkari audit, CAG audit, but an independent audit of all MCD projects.
51:45Ma'am, that's a fabulous point.
51:47I'm advocating independent audit.
51:49No, that is a great point because I think anyone in the national capital who's dealt with the MCD has
51:55needed the MCD.
51:56The MCD has extracted some amount of money from them.
51:58So it's a great, great idea.
52:01Mr. Kukreja, final comment, sir.
52:04Sure.
52:04Priti, since you asked for some radical suggestions, I'm going to say that, you know,
52:08rather than small measures of injecting and improving the built environment,
52:13we need to actually now do testing of whatever buildings are unsafe.
52:17I completely agree with Gauri.
52:19We need to create not just quantity.
52:21We need to create qualitative, safe built environments.
52:25So we need to look at even redevelopment and reconstruction wherever Delhi needs to do that.
52:31Because the kind of unauthorized colonies, the kind of these narrow lanes, encroachments, unsafe buildings,
52:38unsafe additions that have taken place, there's no easy solution to fix them.
52:42So we will have to really take up our act together now.
52:45And we have to look at redeveloping these areas with good quality public spaces as well.
52:52It should not be this greed of just building more and more.
52:55We need to understand that the quality is going to shape the people of tomorrow.
53:00And therefore, we need to give a better quality of built environment.
53:03I thank you all.
53:04Thanks all of our guests for joining us this evening.
53:07It is a tragedy that we speak at the back of.
53:09And like we said, history often offers a warning.
53:12This is a warning.
53:14And sadly, five, seven lives have been lost, five young students.
53:18We are going to keep a keen eye on all developments.
53:21Tomorrow, we are going to shift the focus to on how this has been the death of the DU dream
53:26that so many students have and have dreamt of across the country.
53:31Their youth, their dreams, what they want in life clearly was too heavy to bear.
53:37In our series on schools, we now look at the condition in Himachal Pradesh, recently revealed in the assembly by
53:43BJP MLA Reena Kashyap that 12 primary schools in her constituency are functioning without a single teacher.
53:49Here's the reality check.
53:56Himachal Pradesh schools are facing a serious shortage of teachers.
54:03BJP MLA Reena Kashyap raised the issue in the state assembly, saying 12 primary schools in her constituency, Pachhar, are
54:11functioning without a single teacher.
54:14Pachhad Vidhan Sabha Shetra Shetra has a lot of experience in which we have no staff.
54:26According to data presented in the assembly, there are no teachers in 150 schools in Himachal, and only a single
54:34teacher in another 3,500 schools.
54:56India today's reporters hit the ground for a reality check, and the numbers paint a worrying picture.
55:02In Kullu district, 314 primary schools are reportedly running with just one teacher each.
55:11At Banugi Primary School, one teacher has been managing the entire school for two years.
55:40At a government primary school in Chamba, the education of 98 children relies only on two teachers.
55:48One of whom is currently on census duty.
55:52Parents say the shortage is directly affecting their children's education.
56:08Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has assured that the government is speeding up recruitment to address the shortage.
56:17When there is a single teacher in the school, there is no need to be a single teacher.
56:21I am doing a job on a single teacher.
56:26I am doing a job on that job.
56:27I am doing a job on a single teacher.
56:29But for students in Himachal's rural and remote areas, the wait for adequate teachers continues.
56:37With Vikas Sharma, Manminder Arroda, Vishal Anand, Mukesh Gautam, Dinesh Kanojia, Bureau Report, India Today.
56:52All right, with that, it's a wrap on this edition of News Today.
56:55Rajdeep Saudisai will join you tomorrow.
56:58Bye bye.
56:59Bye.
57:00For now.