PG collapse in Delhi’s Satya Niketan: Who is responsible?

by October 6, 2026 Governance
A DU PG collapse exposes the gap between Delhi's planning rules and real building safety. Watch this video to know more.

On September 6, a five-storey boys’ Paying Guest (PG) accommodation collapsed in Satya Niketan, near Delhi University’s South Campus, leaving seven people dead. This video looks beyond the single building to ask how the neighbourhood reached this point.

Delhi has had a formal planning system since the DDA was set up in 1957 and the first Master Plan followed in 1962. Yet Satya Niketan has grown into a dense student housing hub. Officials say the collapsed building had permission for only the ground plus first floors.

Ayush Anilal, an architect, studied the area for his thesis. He explains how intensely the land is used and how buildings are modified as demand grows. He argues that the rules on paper do not reflect what is happening on the ground.

Five MCD officials were initially suspended, and wider inspections and structural audits of PGs and hostels have been ordered. Drawing on Ayush’s thesis on the neighbourhood, this video traces the gap between Delhi’s planning rules and what is built on the ground, and asks who was responsible for enforcing them.

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About Rahul Vinay

Rahul Vinay is a filmmaker and visual storyteller at Oorvani Foundation. He works primarily with video, using the medium to report and tell stories about cities and the people who live in them. His work spans short-form reporting, visual explainers and longer-form stories on urban life and civic issues.
Read more by Rahul Vinay

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