Examine the case for a distinct regulatory category of mixed-use buildings. What institutional reforms would make urban local bodies accountable?

An MCD survey of 2,453 paying-guest (PG) buildings in Delhi found only 31 with fire NOCs and eight with structural stability certificates [1]. Such buildings are neither purely residential nor commercial; a rulebook that recognises only these two categories is the root defect, not merely lax inspection.

The case for a "mixed-use educational building" category

• Use has outrun classification: PGs and coaching floors operate on plots sanctioned as residential, so an inspector tests a building housing dozens of students against ordinary household norms.
• No standard means no enforceable violation: without a defined class, occupancy density, exit width, fire clearance and structural certification cannot be legally demanded. The Satya Niketan PG that collapsed had no sanctioned plan, an unauthorised basement and a floor beyond the FAR limit [1].
• Graded, achievable norms: a distinct class permits standards lighter than a hospital's but stricter than a dwelling's — compliance small landlords can actually meet, reducing the push into informality.
• But classification alone is insufficient: Uttar Pradesh has regulated coaching since 2002 [3], the Centre issued Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centres, 2024 [2], and Rajasthan legislated in 2025 [4] — yet student deaths recurred. A new label is step one of four.

Institutional reforms for accountable urban local bodies

• Tie utilities to safety: make water and electricity connections conditional on a valid safety certificate — desk-verifiable, unlike physically inspecting thousands of buildings.
• Named liability: fix statutory duty on ward-level officials with public compliance dashboards; today suspensions follow disasters, while routine inspection has no owner.
• End the promise of forgiveness: statutory protection of unauthorised construction from sealing [5] and 'as-is where-is' regularisation [6] price illegality below compliance; buildings with paying occupants should be carved out.
• Single-window regulator for PGs and coaching, with penalties indexed to rental income rather than flat fines [2].
• Capacity: devolve the finances and staffing the 74th Amendment envisaged for municipal functions [7].

Delhi's cycle of tragedy followed by short-lived sealing drives reflects regulatory design failure as much as enforcement failure. Recognising mixed-use educational buildings, paired with certifiable duties and named municipal accountability, would convert the 74th Amendment's promise of empowered local government into everyday student safety.