Satya Niketan’s PG boom has outgrown its low-rise beginnings

Satya Niketan’s narrow lanes were planned for ground-and-first-floor homes. Today, many of those plots hold student PGs and rental rooms serving Delhi University’s South Campus across the road.

The strain on that transformation came into view after a building collapsed on Sunday. An MCD official said the structure breached the prescribed 17.5-metre height limit. The civic body is examining whether incessant rain and seepage weakened it, or whether repair or other work contributed. Residents alleged that work was under way in the basement.

From resettlement homes to student rentals

The DDA developed Satya Niketan in the 1970s and 1980s for displaced families and labourers, with smaller plots and low-rise structures than nearby Shanti Niketan and Anand Niketan. Former DDA planning commissioner Sabyasachi Das said standard plans allowed only a ground floor and first floor, a restriction also linked to the colony’s proximity to the airport.

After Delhi University set up its South Campus in 1973, local households began renting rooms to students. As colleges including Sri Venkateswara College, Jesus and Mary College and Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College expanded, landlords added beds, tables and common toilets. Many homes were later converted into PG accommodation, with additional rooms and floors built to house more tenants.

Master Plan for Delhi-2021 allowed hostels and PG facilities on residential plots along roads meeting specified mixed-use street width requirements. Residents say those requirements, particularly on road width, have often not been followed. The proposed Master Plan for Delhi-2047 simplifies some PG norms, while retaining restrictions for A and B category colonies.

Safety and access concerns

In 2012, residents of 45 resettlement colonies, including Satya Niketan, were allowed to obtain freehold rights after paying a prescribed percentage of the circle rate. The change enabled sales, floor divisions and bank loans, adding pressure to an area already coping with growing footfall, vehicle movement, congestion and waterlogging.

The latest collapse was not the first. In April 2022, two labourers died when a building undergoing renovation collapsed in Satya Niketan.

V K Paul, director of the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, said the complete collapse without visible distress suggested an unengineered building. He called for safety audits to assess neighbouring structures and whether emergency services can reach them, alongside a basic compliance check before buildings are occupied.