NEW DELHI: Valuable public properties in the heart of Delhi are being allowed to decay, with 67 of Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s 126 vacant properties classified as dilapidated and 95 having remained unused for more than three years, according to the civic body’s latest data.A TOI ground check found several such buildings in prominent neighbourhoods, including Bungalow Road, Gulabi Bagh and Turkman Gate, among others.With no security personnel present, these premises can be entered without authorisation. Some were found occupied by people, possibly squatters, while others were surrounded by garbage and overgrown vegetation. Several remained locked despite being in relatively usable condition, while others were unused or poorly maintained, showing clear signs of prolonged neglect.The contrast is particularly stark along Bungalow Road in Kamla Nagar, near Delhi University, where the MCD properties are meant for officers’ bungalows and staff quarters.The road is packed with shops, students, pedestrians and traffic, leaving little space to move. Yet along one side stand several MCD properties, silent and neglected.At least four properties visited in the area were found in a severely deteriorated condition. Their damaged facades, overgrown vegetation and locked, ageing structures have led local students to informally refer to them as “haunted houses”.Inside the premises, vegetation had taken over sizeable portions of the land. Broken sections of walls, exposed brickwork, damaged doors and windows and other deteriorating parts of the structures pointed to years of inadequate maintenance.Garbage had only worsened the condition, with plastic waste, discarded packaging and other refuse scattered around the entrances and inside the premises.The condition of one property also raised concerns over possible unauthorised use. Bedding and other personal belongings were found inside a room, suggesting that the unused structure may have been accessed as a shelter.Outside MCD bungalow No. 49/8, a flower seller said most of the properties had remained vacant for several years.One of the properties, he said, was vacated last year and people now occasionally enter the area to dump garbage, while roadside workers sometimes use the space, though regular activity inside the premises is limited.The problem is not confined to Kamla Nagar. In Gulabi Bagh, a large MCD property meant for a maternity home was found lying unused, with no security guard present at the site.
Vacant properties
The main entrance was open, allowing unrestricted access to the premises. The building appeared to have deteriorated over the years, with the unused space showing signs of turning into a wasteland.Such conditions also create a security and safety concern. Damaged structures exposed to the elements can pose risks to anyone entering the premises, while open or poorly secured properties provide secluded spaces that could be misused.However, an MCD official TOI spoke to said most municipal properties have security arrangements.Schools make up another major category of unused civic properties.Not all vacant MCD school buildings, however, are in poor condition. Some buildings visited during the ground check were structurally maintained and appeared capable of being used, but had remained closed for years following a decline in student enrolment.Officials and residents said some of these properties are occasionally used for election-related preparations, including as polling stations, but remain closed when elections are not being held.At School Ward No. 5 on Turkman Road No. 1, behind the MCD headquarters, a primary school building remains unused. The structure, though locked, was found in relatively good condition and had been cleaned.Residents of Turkman Gate said the school had witnessed a decline in enrolment over the years, following which its students were shifted to another nearby school. The building, largely unused, is now sometimes used for poll-related purposes.The scale of the problem becomes clearer from MCD’s own data, according to which 126 MCD-owned properties currently lie vacant across Delhi. Of these, 19 sites are in good condition, 67 in dilapidated condition and 12 in average condition.Three sites have already been demolished, 19 are open plots, while six properties are under court cases.These are not forgotten structures sitting on the city’s fringes; they occupy valuable public land in some of Delhi’s busiest neighbourhoods.When contacted, there was no immediate response from MCD to queries on the decay or utilisation of the properties.
