New Delhi, July 29 (UNI) Participating in a discussion over recent deaths of UPSC aspirants in Delhi due to flooding of the basement of a coaching centre, several members on Monday in Rajya Sabha pointed out negligence on part of concerned authorities in ensuring compliance of building guidelines.

Initiating the short-duration discussion in the Upper House, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said the basement where the tragic incident took place was to be used as storage as per the clearance granted by the Fire Department.

He termed the lapses on part of the authorities as 'criminal negligence' which put the lives of students in danger.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar observed that the incident was a serious one and urged the members to come up with constructive suggestions to improve the situation.

"Coaching has become a flourishing industry with high returns... and the kind of advertisements, I said, need to be examined. Every penny spent on advertisements is coming from the student. Every new building is coming from the student. So there is really a need for an approach that can go a long way in tackling it," he said in his remarks on the issue.

Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala said that mushrooming of coaching centres in the country was a dangerous trend and attributed it to parents' aspirations, students' aspirations and limited seats in top colleges, and declining employment opportunities.

BJP MP Surendra Singh Nagar slammed the AAP government and questioned as to who had issued the NOC to the Delhi coaching centre.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal demanded Rs 1 crore ex gratia to the families of the deceased students by the Delhi government.

Maliwal has been at loggerheads with the members of her own party.Senior AAP MP Sanjay Singh highlighted the works of the Delhi government pertaining to water pipelines and allied issues.

He alleged that the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi was preventing the state government officials from doing their work.

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