The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Friday decided to work on a policy to regulate structures installed on rooftops in Connaught Place, a day after a portion of a building in the commercial centre collapsed.
NDMC officials have said that a preliminary inquiry pointed towards additional load being put on the roof as one of the factors contributing to the collapse.
Mobile towers, diesel generator sets, water tanks and air-conditioning units installed on the roofs could be making the structure unsafe, said officials.
After setting up a committee to probe Thursday’s collapse, the NDMC on Friday issued an action plan. As per the plan, a six-member panel, including structural safety experts from IIT-Delhi, CPWD, NDMC and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the area, will submit report on the incident in three weeks.
24x7 water supply
“We will also come up with a policy to regulate rooftop installations as the structures cannot take the additional weight. The occupants will be asked to inform us about all mobile towers, water tanks etc. installed on the roof,” said a senior official.
The official added that the NDMC would explore ways to provide 24x7 water supply to Connaught Place in order to reduce the need for heavy water storage tanks on the roofs.
Proper use of roofs
Apart from that, the NDMC will be asking occupants of Connaught Place to give an undertaking that roofs of their buildings were not being misused.
As per the provisions of the health trade licence, no commercial activity is allowed on the terraces, which are supposed to be for fire-fighting and exit purposes.
