Can Delhi Buildings Withstand Turkey-Like Earthquake? HC Gives Kejriwal Govt 4 More Weeks to Respond

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted four more weeks to the Delhi government to respond to a plea which raised concerns that the seismic stability of buildings in the national capital is poor. The plea submitted that in case of a major earthquake, like the one that has claimed more than 41,000 lives in Turkey-Syria, there could be a large number of casualties.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was hearing a contempt petition filed by advocate Arpit Bhargav against the Delhi government, alleging that they have not complied with the 2019 direction of the High Court, wherein, it had asked for a proper and detailed action plan to be made available to the public, guiding them step-by-step about the measures to be taken as a precaution.

The High Court had directed the Delhi government, through the Department of Urban Development and Local Bodies, to give out a detailed action plan, outlining responsibilities of the concerned corporations, and areas which, according to the government’s perception, are at high risk.

The High Court had also directed that in the event a proper detailed action plan is not made available to the public, all concerned officials of the Government of NCT of Delhi, as well as the highest officials of the MCD, Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Cantonment Board and other local authorities, would face contempt proceedings without any further orders.

In view of the above, the contempt petition submitted that it is amply clear that despite such serious intervention shown by the High Court over a period of five years, the Delhi government has shown little concern for larger public interest and did not move an inch for ground level formulation and implementation of an action plan.

The plea submitted that the officials from whom the clarifications are to be obtained should indicate a clear timeline for the assessment of individual buildings to be made by the concerned engineers or other technical personnel after the applications are received.

“In the absence of these and any other relevant details, the so-called action plan, in the opinion of this court, is a mere formality, if not a mockery of the court’s order,” the plea added.

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