DMRC announces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia after building collapse near Sadar Bazar Metro site

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Friday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the family of a person who died during debris clearance after three buildings collapsed near a Metro construction site at Sadar Bazar.

The incident occurred around 2 am in the Mithaipul locality, where tunnelling is underway for the Janakpuri West–RK Ashram Marg corridor. The collapsed buildings, which housed shops and offices, were located within the influence zone of the ongoing underground work.

DMRC officials said the structures had already been declared unsafe and were evacuated in June. Notices were issued to the building owners on June 12, warning that the structures were in a severely dilapidated condition and must be vacated as a precautionary measure, according to a statement from DMRC.

“All necessary steps, including subsoil grouting and external structural supports, were taken before tunnelling began. The buildings were also evacuated in advance,” said Anuj Dayal, principal executive director of DMRC.

Despite these efforts, the buildings collapsed, prompting emergency operations involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Police. The site has since been secured and barricaded, he said.

The tunnelling in the area is being carried out by construction agency AFCONS. DMRC has ordered a detailed investigation into the incident, the statement read.

A 46-year-old man was killed after a three-storey commercial building collapsed in Delhi’s Bara Hindu Rao area in the early hours of Friday, an official said.

Manoj Sharma, an employee at one of the shops housed in the building, was trapped under the rubble of the collapsed structure. He was pulled out of the debris and taken to the Hindu Rao Hospital, where he was later declared dead, the official said.

He said Sharma had been an employee of the shop for nearly three decades.

Also Read: Delhi | Only 32 CCTVs in Shahdara functional: RTI

Officials said that a truck parked in front of the building was also severely damaged.

A case is being registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings), and a probe has been initiated to ascertain the cause of the collapse, according to officials.