MCD has made it clear that any negligence or dereliction of duty by officials in dealing with unauthorised construction will not be tolerated.Prefer HTon Google The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has placed three officials of its building department under suspension with immediate effect for dereliction of duty and negligence in the discharge of their official responsibilities regarding action against unauthorised construction.MCD has directed its field-level officials to remain vigilant and ensure timely action against violations in accordance with the prescribed rules and procedures. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)As per the orders issued by the MCD on Thursday, Ravinder Kumar, Assistant Engineer (AE) in building department, South West zone (erstwhile Najafgarh Zone), has been placed under suspension as per applicable rules.Also read: Satya Niketan PG operator's anticipatory bail plea rejected by Delhi court days after 7 killed in building collapseSuman Saurabh and Mohit Yadav, who work as junior engineers in the same department and zone, have also been suspended with immediate effect.The action has been taken in view of dereliction of duty and negligence on the part of the officials, in accordance with the applicable service rules and orders of the competent authority. Apart from this, the civic body has also carried out demolition of 41 buildings and sealed 61 buildings found to be unauthorised. The action comes days after a boys paying guest accommodation building collapsed on Sunday afternoon, killing at least seven people and injuring seven others. MCD has made it clear that any negligence or dereliction of duty by officials in dealing with unauthorised construction will not be tolerated. The Corporation has directed its field-level officials to remain vigilant and ensure timely action against violations in accordance with the prescribed rules and procedures.Also read: Satya Niketan tragedy| Venky principal stays back in college to comfort displaced students: I couldn’t leave them aloneThe civic body has reiterated that strict accountability will be maintained at all levels and that officials found failing to discharge their duties properly will be liable for action as per applicable rules.The Corporation will continue to take necessary enforcement and administrative measures to ensure compliance with building norms and to prevent unauthorised construction across Delhi.Shishir Gupta is Executive Editor at Hindustan Times and one of India's top journalists covering national security, strategic affairs, foreign policy and geopolitics. Over the past three decades, he has extensively reported on India's military, diplomatic and security landscape, covering every major conflict and national security challenge, from the 1999 Kargil War and the 2020 East Ladakh standoff to Operation Sindoor in 2025. He has also covered major terror attacks, including the IC-814 hijacking, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and the 2025 Pahalgam terror strike, along with numerous Pakistan-backed terrorist incidents in the Kashmir Valley and across India. He has reported on national and state elections for more than three decades.