NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Thursday suspended an assistant engineer and two junior engineers of its building department over alleged dereliction of duty and negligence in taking action against unauthorised construction.The action comes days after the civic body suspended south zone deputy commissioner (DC) Rakesh Kumar and four engineers pending disciplinary proceedings following the collapse of a multi-storey building housing a paying guest accommodation in Satya Niketan, news agency PTI reported.According to an MCD statement, those suspended on Thursday are Ravinder Kumar, an assistant engineer posted in the South West Zone, formerly Najafgarh Zone, and junior engineers Suman Saurabh and Mohit Yadav of the same zone.The collapse killed seven people, including five students, and left seven others injured, PTI reported.With Thursday’s action, seven engineers and one DC have now been suspended.The suspensions come amid an intensified crackdown by the civic body on unauthorised and dangerous buildings across Delhi following the Satya Niketan building collapse.MCD teams continued demolition and enforcement action across all 12 zones of the city on Thursday, targeting structures found to be in violation of building norms.The MCD has also resumed controlled demolition of the building adjoining the one that collapsed in Satya Niketan on September 6. Officials said the structure was being demolished in a calibrated manner.As part of its wider enforcement drive, the civic body surveyed 1,252 paying guest (PG) buildings between September 7 and 9 to assess their safety.Between June 1 and September 9, the MCD carried out 1,053 demolition actions, sealed 491 properties and issued 2,316 show-cause notices and 757 demolition notices across the city, according to official records.The MCD said negligence by officials in dealing with unauthorised construction would not be tolerated and directed field-level officers to remain vigilant and take timely action against violations.(With agency inputs)
