A day after facing major embarrassment over the flooding of its brand new headquarters the Rs 650-crore Civic Centre the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has ordered an inquiry. Municipal Commissioner K S Mehra said a three-member panel will be formed and asked to submit a report within the next three days. A media visit organised on Tuesday by councillors from the opposition Congress in the MCD had revealed leaking roofs,seepage through walls and a waterlogged basement parking lot at the complex,unveiled merely three months ago. While discussing the matter in the MCD Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday,Congress councillors shouted slogans and demanded a CBI probe into the matter. They also demanded stoppage of payment as well as blacklisting of the Malaysian contractor. We have issued directions for an inquiry in the matter. A panel headed by Chief Engineer Ravidass will file a report in three days, said Standing Committee chairperson Yogender Chandolia. Offering an explanation for the fiasco,Ravidass said the water had leaked through the expansion joints (the gap between floor decks for withholding impact of weather or seismic pressure). As per guidelines,there is a small gap between these joints. In certain areas,these joints had not been sealed as the furniture was being placed there. He said the flooding of the basement parking may have been caused due to a problem with the pumps installed in the area or the channels created to drain out water from the parking. Water gets collected in the basement through ramps in the parking lot. We have created channels through which water is directed towards the pumping stations. On Tuesday,water might have collected in the parking due to the pump being non-functional at the time,or due to the channels being blocked for some reason, Ravidass said. Dismissing the opposition Congresss allegations of below-standard construction,Ravidass also assured the Standing Committee that no cracks had developed in the structure of the building and the seepage had occurred solely due to technical problems. The MCD was supposed to shift its headquarters to the Civic Centre by August it seems unlikely now.
