NEW DELHI: Two days after the Satya Niketan building collapse, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has identified more than 1,200 functional paying guest (PG) accommodations across the city in a tentative survey and has begun a detailed exercise to ascertain their status, officials said.
Officials said that the ongoing MCD survey will collect only on details of the location of PG accommodations, the number of buildings being used as PGs, the number of floors in each building and the number of occupants.
Sources said the initial exercise was limited to a preliminary identification of PGs and did not assess their legality or compliance with regulations. The MCD has now deployed personnel from various departments to carry out a more detailed survey.
This exercise is being undertaken in accordance with a Delhi High Court mandate, with MCD expected to submit a detailed report on the status of the PGs within seven days.
Sources said that the survey would provide the civic body with the data of the number of PG accommodations functioning in the city and the number of people residing in them.
The tentative exercise has so far identified around 1,200 to 1,300 functional PGs in the city. However, sources said that the figure is preliminary and could change once the detailed survey is completed.
The exercise comes as the MCD has stepped up building inspections and enforcement following the Satya Niketan incident. Alongside the survey of PG accomodations, the civic body has initiated action against dangerous buildings flagged in its annual pre-monsoon survey and begun identifying unauthorised construction above the fourth floor.
The detailed survey is expected to provide the first consolidated assessment of PG accommodation operating across the capital.