No renovation at new Delhi Police headquarters without intimation: Advisory to senior officers
Following instances of officials installing ACs leading to structural damage to the building, Special Commissioner of Police (CP) Garima Bhatnagar has asked all senior officers of Delhi Police not to carry out any kind of renovation work at the new Police Headquarters (PHQ) on Jai Singh Road without prior intimation to the land and building […]
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The new building on Jai Singh Road (Express File Photo)
Following instances of officials installing ACs leading to structural damage to the building, Special Commissioner of Police (CP) Garima Bhatnagar has asked all senior officers of Delhi Police not to carry out any kind of renovation work at the new Police Headquarters (PHQ) on Jai Singh Road without prior intimation to the land and building unit of the department.
In a recent advisory to the OSD to Delhi Police Commissioner, all Special CPs, Joint CPs, and Additional CPs operating from the PHQ, Special CP Bhatnagar said, “The New Police Headquarters was constructed under Public Private Partnership mode. Delhi Police (Authority) has given the concessionaire exclusive right to take care of the building for a period of 15 years, commencing from March 31, 2016. Hence, each kind of construction/alteration/ renovation is to be done either by the Concessionaire or with the concurrence of the Concessionaire.”
She further wrote: “Recently, the Concessionaire has brought to the notice that an AC at room on the seventh floor of tower-II was installed by a third party vendor by cutting the post-tension (PT) slab to take out the copper pipe of outdoor AC unit kept on the seventh-floor terrace. The matter was not discussed… and third-party vendors cut the PT slab which is very risky/unsafe as the strength of the floor has weakened. It is well-informed that no one is allowed to make any holes in PT slab in any circumstance as this causes fall of the slab.”
Bhatnagar, who took charge on August 1 in the Provisioning and Finance Division, further stated: “The Independent Engineer of the project has also observed that it was a PT slab having strands (PT wires). If a strand is cut, it may impact the slab strength and the slab may crack. Hence, it is not recommended to cut the slab in any way and an advisory in this regard needs to be disseminated in each office in PHQ so that the same should not happen in the future.”
Last month, an internal audit was conducted by the land and building (L&B) cell, which found that around 20 offices in the PHQ have conducted modification or renovation work. “Different wings of Delhi Police stationed in new PHQ have carried out modification work in their offices without the permission/approval of the Competent Authority and without the knowledge of (L&B) cell. Despite knowing the fact that the new PHQ is designed with a centralised air conditioning system, there are a number of offices where officers have installed their personal AC due to which problems related to seepage are being reported,” Bhatnagar pointed out in her advisory.
She emphasised that no one should carry out any kind of renovation work or cut the PT slab without prior intimation to the L&B Cell to avoid any untoward discrepancies or incidents in the new HQ building.
The new building was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2019. Built at a cost of Rs 286 crore, the headquarters is spread over an area of eight acres.
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