Delhi HC pulls up Kejriwal govt, municipal bodies on action plan to deal with earthquakes

The Delhi High Court on Thursday slammed the AAP-led government and municipal bodies over non-implementation of a proper action plan to deal with the seismic stability of buildings in the capital. The division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan expressed their unhappiness regarding the plan submitted by the bodies to deal with earthquakes in Delhi in the backdrop of tremors that the national capital has been witnessing for the past few weeks.

The plea in the High Court had submitted that several earthquakes had struck Delhi since April 12 and there were similar occurrences in other parts of North India like Jammu and Kashmir suggesting that a major earthquake could hit the national capital anytime soon.

Read: Biggest Earthquake Since 2001 Hits Gujarat, CM Vijay Rupani Speaks To Collectors

The bench observed that "on paper very good and "nicely worded" guidelines/notifications had been drafted, but on ground they do not appear to have been implemented," slating the matter for further hearing on July 8.

Read: 4.4 Earthquake Follows 5.5 Near Gujarat's Rajkot In Back-to-back Seismic Incidents

In their affidavit the Delhi government assured the court that the five urban local bodies had been directed to ensure compliance of the action plan which included conducting detailed surveys to identify the unsafe buildings along with the classification of high-risk buildings based on year of construction. 

The Delhi High Court, had earlier, directed all commissioners of civic bodies to file affidavits explaining their contingency plan to deal with earthquakes on an urgent basis. The court had also asked them make citizens aware of the precautions that need to be taken with regards to the action plan of the government.

Recently, Delhi's National Capital Region experienced six earthquakes in 10 days - all with its epicentre near the Gurugram-Rohtak region. The most recent earthquake was felt on June 8 with an intensity 2.1 on the Richter scale and 19km depth. The earthquake's epicentre was 15 km east of Rohtak, Haryana, and hit at 1:00 PM. 

Read: Gujarat Witnesses 4 Earthquakes In 24 Hours; Latest Tremors Felt Near Bhachau

Read: Earthquake Of Magnitude 5.8 Hits J-K, Third In Three Days

(With Agency Inputs)