Building collapses to fires, 33k died in 5 years from 2020 | India News
NEW DELHI: Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 33,000 people died across the country in incidents involving building collapses, fires and falls into pits and manholes, according to govt data. Most of these deaths occurred in urban areas, pointing to serious gaps in civic governance and enforcement of safety regulations.The actual numbers will be significantly higher as data on road deaths within municipal limits – many on account of potholes – and those due to contaminated water are unavailable.The data taken from reports of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that thousands of deaths every year are linked to accidents that are largely preventable and often occur due to poor upkeep of public infrastructure, unsafe buildings and non-compliance with safety regulations. There are no specific data on deaths due to consumption of contaminated water and unhygienic conditions.
While recent incidents in Delhi, including those in Satya Niketan, Hauz Rani, Palam and Vivek Vihar have caught the attention of people, instances of parts of Gurgaon and Delhi getting flooded and accumulation of piles of garbage are clear indicators of how municipal governance has deteriorated.“There is a lack of will to address the issues and no one wants to take responsibility. Every corporator or councillor, municipal officer and mayor needs to take responsibility. In every budget, mayors must inform people what they have done, where they have failed and what they would do. Accountability at each level is necessary,” said former urban development secretary M Ramachandran.PSN Rao, dean of School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi said municipal authorities only need to follow the law and enforce rules that are already laid down. “How many municipal commissioners tour different parts of cities? It’s the duty of municipal officers to carry out regular inspections to identify dangerous buildings and take necessary action. There is no alternative to strict enforcement. When there is a red signal, you must stop; else there will be an accident.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
It’s as simple as that,” he added.A retired civil servant who worked in the urban development ministry and in top positions in states said that there is lack of supervision and monitoring down the line. “There is adequate manpower. Across cities you will find municipal officers knocking at the door when one starts any construction work. So, there is no shortage of hands for monitoring purposes. ‘Fish rots from the head’, as the Japanese saying goes, and things must start from the top,” he said.Experts and former officials who have worked in the sector also stressed that govt’s push for ease of construction and deregulation must follow a balanced approach. “The distinction between deregulating to increase economic activity and deregulation that leads to collapse of civic order is a fine one and has been lost in the rush to deregulate everything. Officers are unable to draw the line and have stopped attending to routine work under the guise of deregulation. An important side-effect has been de-skilling as they are no longer able to decide and act,” one of them said.
