Collapsed houses not in LMC list of dilapidated buildings

LUCKNOW: The structures which collapsed in the city on Friday and claimed four lives were not in the LMC’s list of old and dilapidated buildings. While LMC and DM have been sending repeated notices to owners of buildings on the list, many others in the city in even worse condition have been overlooked by LMC and pose danger to local residents.
Five incidents in a day imply that there is an urgent need for a re-look and prepare a new list of dangerous buildings.

DM Kaushal Raj Sharma told TOI, “The list of dangerous buildings needs to be redone. We have instructed the municipal commissioner to survey the city again.”

Every year LMC should conduct a survey, prepare a fresh list of dilapidated buildings and send notices to their owners. However, it was only after the house, wall collapse incidents on Friday that LMC swung into action and ordered that a list be prepared when it should have been ready before monsoon or at least after the first house collapse incident on July 26.

LMC’s callousness can be gauged from the fact that every year it re-furnishes the same old list with a few additions while in reality there are hundreds of more severely dilapidated houses that can fall any time posing danger to nearby population.

Under section 131 of UP Municipal Corporation Act 1959, LMC can send notices to owners ordering them to vacate or strengthen the building. But under section 134, municipal commissioner has power to enforce evacuation or demolition if owners don’t comply.

LMC didn’t use section 134 and was sitting idle after sending notices to owners of old list. Municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi issued final notice to evacuate buildings by Saturday or face demolition after DM’s instructions.

Tripathi said, “Most residents are very poor and cannot shift house. How could we forcefully evacuate them during rains? We issued orders only after we felt that their lives are in danger.”