The deaths of seven students in the collapse of a PG building in Delhi's Satya Niketan have sparked serious concerns over the safety of PGs and rental accommodations used by students across the capital. While the government and civic authorities have announced structural audits across Delhi and assured action against those responsible, an India Today ground investigation has revealed that rooms are still being offered to students in buildings near the collapse site despite visible safety concerns.
PG BUSINESS CONTINUES AFTER DEADLY COLLAPSE
Shortly after the Satya Niketan building collapse, the India Today team surveyed PG accommodations in and around the area. About 100 metres from the collapse site, a broker named Dhanraj from Sai Properties showed the team rooms in a five-storey PG building.
The rooms, measuring approximately 8x10 feet, were available for Rs 9,000 to Rs 12,000 per month without air conditioning, while AC rooms were priced between Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000.
The broker said tenants would have to pay one month's rent as an advance, 15 days' brokerage and accept a minimum six-month lock-in period.
However, the more serious concern was the building's condition. The staircase lacked sufficient lighting, dampness was visible on the walls and water was leaking from pipelines at multiple locations.
The broker also stated on camera that several students were searching for new accommodation after leaving their previous PGs in the wake of the Satya Niketan building collapse.
5 FLOORS ON A 50-SQUARE-YARD PLOT
The India Today team also visited the narrow lanes of Moti Bagh village, where a landlord, Veerwati, and her son Naveen showed them a room situated on the fifth floor of a building.
The lanes are extremely narrow, raising serious concerns about whether fire engines and ambulances could reach the buildings promptly during an emergency.
Residents said several old houses in the area have had additional floors added over the years. Such construction raises concerns over whether the original structures and their foundations were designed to withstand the extra load.
CLAIM OF OVER 200 PGs IN 299 HOUSES
Om, an old property broker in the area, told the India Today team about the extent of the PG business in Satya Niketan. He claimed that the locality has around 299 houses, with more than 200 being run as commercial PGs.
According to Om, additional floors have been built on several houses that are 15-20 years old. He also alleged that balconies and roof projections have been expanded to create more space.
If these claims are accurate, the concerns extend beyond a single building's safety and raise broader questions about building safety and the monitoring of unauthorised construction throughout the locality.
QUESTIONS OVER MCD ACTION AFTER COLLAPSE
The administration has announced measures following the Satya Niketan tragedy and said structural audits will be conducted. However, questions remain about why routine monitoring failed to stop additional floors, PG operations and commercial activities from continuing in areas where such practices have reportedly been taking place for years.
Did the MCD not have knowledge of these constructions?
If it did, why was no action taken?
And if action was taken, how did these buildings and PGs continue to function?
These questions have gained greater importance after the Delhi High Court directed the MCD to conduct a high-level inquiry into whether the collapsed building had been constructed with valid permissions. The court also asked the civic body to determine responsibility among officials if violations are discovered and ordered an audit of PG hostels to establish whether they comply with building permissions and bylaws.
STUDENTS' HOSTEL SHORTAGE ADDS TO THE PROBLEM
Students from different parts of the country travel to Delhi to pursue studies at universities and colleges. With hostel accommodation in short supply, many have no option but to rely on private PGs and rented rooms.
With rents high and choices limited, students often focus on affordability, proximity to their colleges and basic amenities. For a student searching for accommodation, evaluating the structural safety of a building is difficult and, in many cases, practically impossible.
This creates an opportunity for operators of unsafe or allegedly unauthorised PGs to potentially take advantage of the demand.
The Delhi High Court has also highlighted the need for additional student hostels, noting that PGs can pose serious risks to students' lives and safety and urging the government and Delhi University to "double down" on efforts to expand hostel facilities.
WHO WILL REGULATE THE 'DEATH TRAPS'?
The Satya Niketan collapse has raised a larger question: will authorities respond only after tragedies occur, or will they identify dangerous buildings before lives are lost?
If PGs are being run without sufficient safety measures, additional floors are being added and large numbers of students are being accommodated in buildings along narrow lanes, responsibility cannot simply begin and end with an investigation after a tragedy.
The real test of the structural audits proposed by the government will be whether they remain limited to paperwork or actually reach the many PGs and buildings where students continue to live every day — potentially unaware of the risks around them.
