Nehru Vihar Residential Building Tilts Repeatedly Due to Faulty Sewer Line

In North Delhi's Nehru Vihar, a residential building has repeatedly tilted over the course of nearly a decade due to a faulty sewer line, local residents reported on Tuesday. The issue has persisted despite the structure undergoing demolition and multiple reconstructions, sparking severe safety alarms over collapse risks in the neighbourhood.

According to local residents, the building is not more than eight years old. It was initially demolished and reconstructed after first developing the structural tilt. However, within a couple of years of being rebuilt, the structure reportedly began leaning again.

The building was most recently reconstructed approximately three years ago, but the problem resurfaced. Residents stated that the underlying issue has never been rectified, pointing to persistent soil and foundation damage caused by the malfunctioning civic sewer line.

"The building started tilting because of a faulty sewer line. It was demolished and rebuilt once. Within a couple of years, it developed the same problem again," a resident said while speaking to the media on Tuesday. The resident alleged that civic authorities had failed to act despite repeated complaints over the years.

"We keep complaining but no one listens. Before this, no government body, neither the Jal Board nor the MCD, carried out proper maintenance," the resident said. The resident further claimed that the structural crisis extends beyond this single property, alleging that at least 400 dwellings in the nearby F Block of Gandhi Vihar are currently tilting in one direction or another.

Neither the Delhi Jal Board nor the Municipal Corporation of Delhi immediately responded to queries regarding the complaints or the maintenance of drainage infrastructure in the area.

The structural warnings in Nehru Vihar come amid heightened scrutiny of building safety across the capital following the collapse of a five-storey building in south Delhi's Satya Niketan on Sunday, which killed at least seven people and injured five others. That incident has renewed concerns over unauthorised construction, civic neglect, and the condition of dilapidated structures across Delhi.