The Supreme Court can order action against illegal buildings in Delhi, but demolition alone cannot solve the city’s long-running construction issue, former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve has said.
The top court is set to hear the issue of illegal construction, days after a building housing college students collapsed in the Satya Niketan area of the national capital. It resulted in the deaths of at least seven people . Because the system failed to provide affordable legal housing, but the government must recognise that many ordinary residents are living in these buildings.
MCD has identified around 52 illegal or dilapidated PG accommodations in Delhi within three days of the tragedy.
Speaking on The Buck Stops Here, Salve said authorities must also consider where people living in such buildings will go and why they were forced to choose illegal or unsafe housing in the first place. “Students are not staying there because they enjoyed living there,” Salve said, pointing to the lack of affordable and legal housing options. He said rich and powerful people who deliberately built illegal homes or commercial structures should not be given protection. “Housing is a very basic need,” Salve said, adding that it cannot be limited to one section of society.
He blamed agencies such as the Delhi Development Authority and civic bodies for failing to plan for the city’s growing population and housing needs.
Builders who grab government land, convert agricultural land without permission or add extra floors to buildings should face strict action, according to Salve.
