AAP seeks Rs 10 lakh each for 11 people killed in Delhi building collapse

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday sought compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the 11 people killed in a building collapse in east Delhi's Mustafabad area.

Delhi Mayor Mahesh Khichi and AAP spokesman Adil Ahmad Khan, addressing mediapersons, sought strict action against officials guilty of laxity in checking illegal construction in the building which caved in on Saturday.

Khichi said, "I am writing a letter to the MCD Commissioner urging him to suspend the officials found guilty of allowing illegal construction."

Khan said it was a matter of concern that the Delhi government had still not announced any compensation for the victims.

"I request Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to announce an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for each of the dead and Rs 5 lakh each for the injured," said Khan.

The 11 people killed in the building collapse in Dayalpur area of Mustafabad included seven members of a single family, including 60-year-old building owner Tehsin, his son, daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, and another daughter-in-law.

The four-storey building came crashing down around 3 a.m. Saturday, trapping 22 people under the rubble.

The incident has sparked a political war of words over alleged corruption in the Building Department of the MCD.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday trained his guns on AAP legislators and councillors in the MCD for promoting illegal construction for votes.

He alleged that in the last 10 years, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and councillors elected from these Muslim-majority constituencies, for the sake of increasing their vote banks and income, have allowed their political associates to construct unauthorised fourth, fifth, and sixth floors and rent them out.

The Delhi BJP President said the Municipal Commissioner should immediately order a survey of buildings above four floors and structurally unsafe houses in areas such as Mustafabad, Karawal Nagar, Seelampur, Okhla, Matia Mahal, Ballimaran, and Sadar Bazar and take strict action.

He said the problem of illegal construction was prevalent in minority-dominated pockets.

He added that there are several such ticking time bombs in Muslim-majority areas. The MCD should order the evacuation, sealing, and demolition of illegal fifth and sixth floors to prevent such incidents.

--IANS

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