Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has ordered a structural safety audit of buildings that are paying guest accommodations in the capital’s leading PG hubs within a week following the tragic Satya Niketan building collapse. This comes as authorities move to put pressure on unsafe buildings and to cater for thousands of students living in PG in Delhi.
The directive was issued in a high-level meeting chaired by the Lieutenant Governor and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood. The meeting was convened to review the action taken following the Satya Niketan collapse and discuss immediate as well as long-term measures to improve the safety of students living in paying guest accommodations.
Several senior officials attended the meeting including the Chief Secretary, the NDRF Chief, MCD Commissioner, Delhi Police Commissioner, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor, DDA Vice-Chairman and senior officials working in the Home and Education departments. Building safety, emergency preparedness, regulation of PG accommodations and the shortage of affordable student housing in the national capital all came up during the discussions.
One of the most important decisions made at the meeting was to perform structural safety inspections of PG buildings located in important student accommodation hubs. The exercise will end within a week and the authorities intend to focus on buildings that are not in compliance with construction code regarding height and the number of floors.
Inspection drives will be increased in areas with high concentrations of paying guest accommodations. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will take strong action against illegal constructions and will immediately take action if a building becomes unsafe.
At the same time, the Lieutenant Governor warned that enforcement should not create unnecessary panic within students. He warned of indiscriminate or “mindless” sealing drives that could leave students without accommodation and said authorities must conduct targeted inspections and focus on premises that appear to violate building and safety regulations in the first place.
Chaired a review meeting with CM Smt. @gupta_rekha Ji, Minister Shri @AshishSood_bjp Ji, Chief Secretary, DG NDRF, @CPDelhi, and senior officials on building safety, student accommodation, and PG regulations across Delhi.
— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) September 7, 2026
Emphasised strict enforcement against unsafe buildings,… pic.twitter.com/0nPPpWSNQu
The meeting also discussed how to strengthen emergency response mechanisms in Delhi. They discussed ways to improve coordination between Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force and other agencies and to reduce response times during emergencies. The Lieutenant Governor ordered that a Delhi Disaster Management Authority control room be up and running immediately to manage rescue operations, medical assistance, verified information for the media and communication with families of victims of disasters.
Another issue discussed was the regulation of paying guest accommodations and coaching institutes. The authorities are currently reviewing recommendations from the Justice Guha Committee to establish strong guidelines for institutions and residential facilities and to address the needs of students.
The shortage of student accommodation was also a key long-term concern. The government discussed the possibility of expanding housing facilities through universities, the MCD and the Delhi Development Authority. Vacant or underused buildings belonging to the DDA and MCD could potentially be explored for student accommodation, while the available DDA housing stock may also be considered.
The government also discussed the expansion of hostel infrastructure. The government is considering higher Floor Area Ratio provisions for new hostels and redevelopment projects under strict safety norms. The DDA and the Land and Development Office have also been asked to assist universities in obtaining approvals, no-objection certificates and other requirements for developing additional hostel facilities.
To deal decisively with these concerns, a committee consisting of the District Magistrate, Deputy Commissioner of Police and MCD Deputy Commissioner will meet with students living in PG accommodations and hear their complaints. The authorities have also agreed to compile a database of students residing in PG facilities in Delhi.
The government has also decided that a committee led by the Urban Development Minister will develop a mid- and long-term plan to increase the availability of safe and affordable student accommodation.
The high-level meeting followed the collapse of a five-storey boys’ PG building at Delhi University’s South Campus in Satya Niketan. The incident happened at around 1.30 p.m. yesterday, as repair work was going on. Seven people were killed and at least six others were injured in the collapse, officials said.
Police have arrested three people in relation to the incident, including the property owner, her husband, and their son. The PG operators and the labour contractor working on the repair are also under investigation, investigators say.
The tragedy has raised new questions about unauthorised construction, structural safety and the conditions in which students live in Delhi’s crowded PG hubs. Now that the safety audit has been ordered, the authorities are faced with identifying dangerous buildings and making sure students are not left without accommodation.
