The affidavit filed by the Delhi government said that the local bodies have been asked to ensure the compliance of notified action plan, to complete structural safety audit, carry out a survey to identify unsafe and high-risk structures and empanel structural engineers.
The Delhi High Court has expressed unhappiness with the response filed by various authorities and Delhi government on an application that raised concern over the preparation in case of a major earthquake and sought directions to act in a time-bound manner.
The affidavit filed by the Delhi government said that the local bodies have been asked to ensure the compliance of notified action plan, to complete structural safety audit, carry out a survey to identify unsafe and high-risk structures and empanel structural engineers. The affidavit said that all local bodies have been directed that all the new plans for new buildings should be sanctioned according to the notified action plan. The affidavit stated that the authorities have further been asked to submit their disaster management plan with details of rescue centres, required logistics and action plan in the event of an earthquake.
The affidavit filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government also talked about the June 10 meeting with NDMA over earthquake risks. The affidavit has also mentioned the statement of Director, National Centre of Seismology, BK Bansal that there was no need to panic.
Bansal had said that though the repeated tremors were unusual, these weren't an indication of a high magnitude earthquake. He had further stated that there was nothing that could predict a quake, so it is important to be prepared to reduce the risk.
On the other hand, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) told the court that it has proposed to constitute a committee of officials from SDMC, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), CPWD, NDMA, BMPTC, NIDM and IITs in this regard.
It further talked about disaster management training for municipal engineers and registered structural engineers. SDMC informed the court that it is working to increase the number of structural engineers. It said that the corporation was planning to roll in the 'Civil Engineers Bill' to address the issue of structural stability of buildings.
The civic body said it was thinking on the lines of the provision in place in Mumbai where 'structural stability certificate' is required for habitants of a building which is more than 30 years old. SDMC further said that buildings which are more than 15 metres high shall be asked to get buildings structurally audited from empanelled engineers and submit a report within 6 months.
The Delhi High Court had earlier this month asked the Delhi government and the city's civic authorities to file affidavits on a plea raising concern on the earthquake situation and seeking directions to act in a time-bound manner.
The notices were issued on a plea filed by advocate Arpit Bhargav who had sought information on the steps taken and intended to be taken by the government and authorities. The application also asks about the preparedness of the authorities in case of a major earthquake in Delhi.
Delhi Chief Secretary, commissioners of municipal corporations, Delhi Cantonment Board and DDA's Vice-chairman had been asked to file responses and make citizens aware over the precautions they can take.
Delhi has experienced several small tremors in the last few weeks.
Not just Delhi, but various parts of the country have seen tremors of varying magnitude in the recent days. The National Centre of seismology has observed approximately 10 tremors since June 14 in various regions out of which two were reported on Thursday.
While one with a magnitude of 2.1 on the Richter scale was recorded at 4:18 am in Haryana's Rohtak, another one with a magnitude of 4.8 had its epicentre in Nicobar islands.
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