Waiting to collapse.

Three days ago, on 6 Sepetember, "Rescuers are digging through the rubble a day after a residential building collapsed in the Indian capital, Delhi, killing at least, seven people." "Authorities have confirmed 12 people were taken to hospital and that seven died while others are receiving treatment." "Building collapses are relatively common in Delhi, with more than a thousand recorded in the past three years causing dozens of deaths, according to fire department figures." BBC. On 30 May, "A building near Saket Metro station collapsed, killing six people, including five doctors preparing for FMGE and NEET-PG exams." On 3 June, "Fire at Flourish Stay B&B in Malviya Nagar claimed at least 23 lives." "Magisterial inquires into a series of deadly building collapses and fires in Delhi have repeatedly flagged regulatory failures, negligence and lapses by multiple govt agencies. The subsequent actions, however, have largely been directed at junior govt officials and engineers." TOI. Illegal, unsafe construction generates enormous amounts of bribes, which go right to the top, votes for the government and employment for the great unwashed. "Around 4 million residents of Delhi are living in unauthorized colonies. Besides, absence of approved building plans, these colonies suffer from other inherent problems of haphazard growth, lack of public amenities and infrastructure, unsafe structures and unhygienic conditions." And so, under the PM-Uday scheme residents of these colonies were given ownership of their properties so that they can get parks, playgrounds and community facilities. dda.gov.in. This is called Regularization. "Regularization is the process by which a state government or local authority retrospectively grants approval to a building. It applies to buildings built without the requisite permissions or in violation of the approved building plan." Propote. Why allow people to live in unsafe structures? Because it creates a 'vote bank' (wikipedia). Also because authorities do not have the means to provide alternate accommodation to the people if the unsafe buildings are demolished. Public land would have been grabbed by a crony of politicians who would have sold parcels to these people. Naturally, politicians and officials would get their cuts. After agriculture, the construction sector is the second largest employment generator in India, employing some  71 million of the workforce in India, 81% of whom are unskilled labor while 19% are skilled. ET. It provides a fallback to the rural landless in between harvesting and planting. Between 2021 and 2025, 179 bridges collapsed killing 202 people and injuring 441 across India. "The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reported only 42 collapses between 2019 and 2024. An analysis of media reports suggests 2024 alone saw 48 collapses, more than the ministry's five-year count. Newslaundry. The problem is that owners of almost all legal buildings in Delhi have added illegal extensions without extra support. In April 2025, "The urban development department informed Delhi Assembly that the 12 zones of Municipal Corporation of Delhi registered 76,4765 cases of illegal constructions in 10 years - form 1 January 2015 to 17 March 2025 - but enforcement action was initiated in only 35,842 cases." ET. Gross underestimate. No  details of what 'enforcement action' were revealed. Unless the minister in charge and senior officials are severely punished this will continue. Delhi is in a high-risk seismic zone 4. TOI. At a guess, over 90% of buildings in Delhi will collapse in the event of any significant earthquake. Casualties will be in millions. Life has no inflation. It remains the cheapest.