Ahead of monsoon, MCD surveys 28 lakh buildings in city, flags just 19 as 'dangerous'

NEW DELHI: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has identified only 19 dangerous structures out of nearly 28 lakh buildings surveyed so far under its annual pre-monsoon inspection, raising questions about the effectiveness and credibility of the exercise.While the deadline for completing the survey is usually June 15, the civic body claims to have completed around 85% of the exercise, inspecting about 27.8 lakh properties so far against a target of 32.5 lakh buildings this year.The survey, which takes 3-4 months, is conducted annually before the monsoon by teams from the buildings and maintenance departments. Assuming it began in March, at least 30,000 buildings would need to have been surveyed per day by the civic body.This year, the survey identified seven dangerous buildings in Karol Bagh zone, four each in Sadar Bazar and West zones, two in Najafgarh, and one each in Narela and South zones.According to the MCD report, one dangerous structure in Karol Bagh has been demolished by its owner, while one building in South zone has been sealed. However, action is pending on the remaining unsafe structures.Besides the buildings declared dangerous, 74 structures were found to require repairs or retrofitting.

Notices and advisories have been issued to their owners, but none has been repaired so far.

“This is a pre-monsoon survey that begins three to four months before the onset of the rainy season. Hundreds of officials from the maintenance and buildings departments are involved in the exercise,” an MCD official said.Officials admitted that inspections are limited to external visual assessments as teams are generally not allowed inside private properties.

“The exercise is primarily a visual survey. Junior engineers inspect buildings from the outside for visible signs of structural distress such as cracks, tilting, sagging or unauthorised commercial activities that may compromise safety. A detailed structural audit is carried out only if considered necessary,” an official said.“We have 15-20 staff mem bers in each ward, and all of them contribute to the survey,” another official added.Structural experts, however, questioned both the methodology and the scale of the exercise.“Even if we accept MCD’s claim that the survey is only visual, it still takes considerable time to examine suspicious buildings. Before issuing notices, officials must determine whether cracks are merely in the plaster or indicate structural damage. Similarly, assessing whether a building requires repairs or retrofitting demands technical expertise.

Even with a workforce of 1,000 trained personnel, it would take nearly 1,400 working days to cover 28 lakh buildings.

The figures released by MCD are hard to believe,” said Aditya Sharma, a structural engineer.Residents also questioned the effectiveness of external inspections, particularly in densely populated colonies.

“There are several areas in Delhi where multi-storey buildings are in narrow lanes. Very little can actually be assessed from outside, even if the survey is carried out thoroughly,” said a resident of Malviya Nagar.Significantly, most of the buildings that collapsed in recent years, including those in Said-ul-Ajaib and Mehrauli, had not been identified as dangerous, highlighting the limitations of the exercise.Atul Goyal, president of United Residents Joint Action (URJA), said such incidents expose the shortcomings of the current inspection mechanism.“In several building collapses reported in south, northeast and other parts in 2026 and 2025, in which several people lost their lives, owners had carried out alterations or added extra floors without strengthening the load-bearing structure. Many buildings that were permitted as ground-plus-two under MPD-2007 were expanded to four storeys after MPD-2021 without taking structural safety certificate,” he said.MCD claimed it had taken action against unauthorised constructions following building collapses and fire incidents this year.