Overview
- The Delhi Development Authority has directed mandatory structural safety audits of all buildings sanctioned before March 21, 2001 that are 15 metres or taller and of pre-2001 smaller buildings with heavy public use.
- Audits must be completed within three months and carried out by structural engineers empanelled with municipal corporations, government agencies, or government institutes; empanelled means those on official approved lists.
- Building owners or occupiers must pay the audit fees and fund any required retrofitting or corrective work, and the DDA warned that officials will take action against those who do not comply.
- The DDA framed the step as a safety response to recent collapses in Delhi, citing concerns about ageing structures and the city’s seismic risk because of its proximity to the Himalayas.
- The order separates safety fixes from legalisation by saying retrofitting will not be treated as deemed sanction for unauthorised construction, a move that preserves enforcement of building rules while focusing on urgent repairs.