Delhi High Court seeks response from government, civic authorities on earthquakes

The petition, filed by Advocate Arpit Bhargav, sought the court direction for the Delhi government and Civic authorities to act in a time-bound manner. 

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (June 9) asked the Delhi government and Civic authorities to file an affidavit on the earthquake situation in the national capital. The court also issued a notice to Delhi Chief Secretary, Commissioners of Municipal Corporations, Cantonment Board, and DDA’s Vice Chairman to file their response and make citizens aware of the precautions they can take.

The petition, filed by Advocate Arpit Bhargav, sought the court direction for the Delhi government and Civic authorities to act in a time-bound manner. 

The plea also prayed that the authorities should apprise the court about the steps taken and intended to be taken by the government and the authorities concerned. It also sought to know the administrative preparedness in case of a major Earthquake in Delhi.

Advocate Arpit Bhargav talked about the series of earthquakes recently observed in the capital and cited opinions of various experts predicting a possibility of a major earthquake in Delhi-NCR in near future. 

“In fact, various experts from IIT and government bodies have gone on record in various print media that builders and architects have created a nexus compromising on strict adherence to norms relating to earthquakes as well as need to revise building code and detailing other safety measures,” the plea said, asking the court to intervene in the larger public interest and issue urgent directions. 

The petitioner said that the situation can be much more harmful than present COVID 19 situations if a major earthquake strikes Delhi considering around “1700 unauthorised colonies” that house over “50 lakh people”. 

He further said that only 10 to 15% of Delhi buildings comply with the building code and regulations.