The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Thursday directed structural safety audits of all high-rise buildings, including malls, hospitals and educational institutions, that were constructed or sanctioned before March 21, 2001, to be completed within three months.

Even buildings sanctioned before the prescribed date but less than 15 metres high and attracting high footfall, including group housing societies, institutional buildings, hospitals and cinema halls, will also have to undergo the assessment within the stipulated period, the urban body said.

The move comes against the backdrop of the September 6 building collapse in Satya Niketan, which claimed the lives of seven persons, five of whom were students.

The police have arrested six persons, including the owners of the collapsed building, in the case so far.

In a submission on September 21, the police told the Delhi High Court that the “accused persons failed to take adequate safety precautions during the construction/repair/modification/alteration work carried out in and around the building, which resulted in a situation endangering human life and ultimately caused deaths”.

In their eight-page status report, the police held the accused prima facie guilty of fleeing the site after the building collapse instead of taking responsibility for the incident or helping those trapped under the debris.

The matter is listed for hearing on Friday before a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia.

In Thursday’s order, the DDA stated, “Structural engineers empanelled with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, government institutes and other government agencies can conduct structural safety audits for the owners.” 

The order was issued keeping in mind structural safety against earthquakes, said a senior official.

According to the Centre’s National Institute of Disaster Management, the national capital lies in Seismic Zone IV, a high-risk zone, where earthquakes of magnitude 5 occur frequently.

The urban body said that after completing the audit, building owners must carry out retrofitting and corrective measures, adding that in case of non-compliance, action will be taken against them.

Aside from the Satya Niketan tragedy, there have been two other building collapse incidents in the city in the recent past.

Six persons died after a multi-storey structure collapsed in Saket’s Said-ul-Ajab while another such incident was reported from Karawal Nagar, with no deaths reported.