Paradigm Shift to Forensic Engineers for Addressing Structural Failures in India

Urban sprawl and high-rise buildings are essential for meeting housing demands and optimising land use, thereby mitigating urban sprawl through vertical urbanisation in densely populated cities. This paper explores the evolution of forensic structural engineering through various case studies, emphasising the urgent need for forensic engineers and their recommendations following structural failures, including subsequent legal actions. Case studies of structural collapses in Bengaluru and Gurgaon are examined. In these instances, buildings were illegally constructed, resulting in fatalities. Forensic engineers, acting as consultants, discuss issues such as weak foundations, poor construction quality, and unauthorised vertical extensions, which violate building codes and bylaws. These violations have led to a disregard for quality and safety standards.

The study employs Normalised Differential Built-up indices using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess the increase in the built-up index. This article reviews the utility matrix of forensic engineers and highlights their growing importance in recent years. Furthermore, the discussion underscores the significance of geotechnical engineering, the need for stringent building codes that focus on people, materials, and machinery, regular inspections, and effective disaster management. The analysis draws lessons for policymakers, builders, and the community aimed at preventing illegal construction practices and enhancing disaster management strategies, thereby reducing the risk of structural failures.

Building by-laws, Construction Claims, Foundation failure, Urban sprawl, vertical urbanisation, Structural Failure

1. Aithal, A., & Ramachandra, T. V. (2016). Urban growth and land use/land cover dynamics in Bangalore, India. International Journal of Applied Environmental Sciences, 11(1), 159–177. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Kumar, N.; Liu, X. Narayanasamy D.S., Pandey, K.K. (2021) A Systematic Review Comparing Urban Flood Management Practices in India to China’s Sponge City Program. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6346. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116346 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Li, M., Cao, Y., Dai, J., Song, J., & Liang, M. (2025). A Comprehensive Review of Urban Expansion and Its Driving Factors. Land, 14(8), 1534. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14081534 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Li, G.; Sun, S.; Fang, C. The Varying Driving Forces of Urban Expansion in China: Insights from a Spatial-Temporal Analysis. Landsc. Urban Plan. 2018, 174, 63–77 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Getu, K.; Gangadhara Bhat, H. Application of Geospatial Techniques and Binary Logistic Regression Model for Analysing Driving Factors of Urban Growth in Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. Heliyon 2024, 10, e25137. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Chadchan, J., Hossiney, N., Tamil Selvan, P. K., & Vijayan, A. (2024). Assessing Housing Preferences and Living Conditions of Migrant Workers in the Fringe Areas of Bengaluru City, India. Societies, 14(12), 261. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc14120261 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Bhagawat, R., Rijal, S., Tiwary, A. 2025. Prediction of Urban Growth and Sustainability Challenges Based on LULC Change: Case Study of Two Himalayan Metropolitan Cities" Land 14, no. 8: 1675. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14081675 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Mirani, R., Radoine, H., Chenal, J., & Kamana, A. (2025). Trends, Methods, Drivers, and Impacts of Housing Informalities (HI): A Systematic Literature Review. Urban Science, 9(4), 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9040101 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Behera S. K., Mishra S. P., Panda S., Siddique M (2019), An Autodesk Modelling of Urbanisation by Vertical Multi-storied Structures over Incompetent Soils, IJEAT, 9(1), 3332- 3342 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Mishra SP., Mahato GK., Mishra S., Siddique M. (2024). Innovative Infrastructure and Architecture for Slum Management in Smart City Bhubaneswar. Dec. 2024, 2nd Int Conf. on Signal Processing, Communication, Power and Embedded System DOI: 10.9734/ejnfs/2025/v17i51708 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Heggade VN. (2024). Forensic Structural Engineering Practices, Bridge and Structural Engineer. 54(3), 41-56 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Parfitt, M. K. (2012). Why Buildings Fail: Are we learning from our mistakes? Buildings, 2(3), 326-331. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings2030326 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Czajkowska, A., Ingaldi, M. (2021). Structural Failures Risk Analysis as a Tool Supporting Corporate Responsibility. J of Risk and Financial Management, 14(4), 187. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Suzuki, A., Liao, W., Shibata, D., Yoshino, Y., Kimura, Y., Shimoi, N. (2023). Structural Damage Detection Technique of Secondary Building Components Using Piezoelectric Sensors. Buildings, 13(9), 2368. doi.org/10.3390/buildings13092368 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Xu, Q., Shi, X., Xu, Z., & Ma, H. (2024). Forensic Analysis on Damage of a Cable-Stayed Bridge without Backstays Using BIM Information. Applied Sci., 14(13), 5538. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135538 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Weiss, M., Hu, X., Pereira, M., & Zhang, P. (2025). Structural Performance and Failure Mechanisms in Bend Loading of Steel-Aerated Concrete Fire Wall Composite Panels. Buildings, 15(8), 1338. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15081338 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Basu, T.; Das, A.; Pereira, P. ( 2023). Exploring the Drivers of Urban Expansion in a Medium-Class Urban Agglomeration in India Using the Remote Sensing Techniques and Geographically Weighted Models. Geogr. Sustain. , 4, 150–160. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Sharma, G.K.; Ghuge, V.V. (2025). Assessment of Urban Growth Dynamics Using Landscape Expansion Index: A Study of 514 Metropolitan Cities from 1975 to 2020. Land Use Policy, 153, 107557 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Khan D., Khan, N., Choudhury, U., Singh, S.K., Kanga, S., Kumar, P., Meraj, G. (2025). Urban Expansion and Spatial Growth Patterns in Lucknow: Implications for Sustainable Development (1991–2021). Sustainability, 17(1), 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010227 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. PTI, Affordable Housing Shortage to Touch 31.2 million Units by 2030, Potential Market size Rs 67 trillion: Report. PTI, https://www.outlookbusiness.com/news/affordable-housing-shortage-to-touch-312-million-units-by-2030-potential-market-size-rs-67-trillion-report [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Kelvin Goudarz, 2021. Forensic structural Engineering and structural failure. ICRI 2021 Fall Convention, 12th Oct 2021. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Anitha, C., & Nanjunda, D. C. (2019). Building collapse disasters in India: An overview. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 39, 101247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101247 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Salena IY., 2018. A Case Study of Foundation Failure in The Existing Residential Building. CORE, Journal Teknik Sipil Fakultas Tek, 2(1), 191-203 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Merah Ahmed (2021). A case study of foundation failure of a residential building: From diagnosis to reparation 8: 9-18 Short Communication DOI: 10.5281/zenodo 4281291ISSN 2353-0057, J. Build. Mater. Struct. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. The Hindu. (2024, October 23). Babusapalya collapse exposes illegal construction practices. Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. The Times of India. (2024, October 23). Bengaluru building collapse: Builder, contractor arrested. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Qiu, C., Tian, S., & Wang, Y. (2025). Structural Failure and Mechanical Response of Buried Pipelines Under Offshore Fault Dislocation. Applied Sciences, 15(17), 9450. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15179450 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Adhikari, R., et al. (2020). The Study of Claims Arising from Building Collapses: Case Studies from Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, and Thailand. ResearchGate. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Wang, Y., et al. (2020). Building Collapse: A Review of Causes and Consequences. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Mishra, S., & Mishra, S. P. (2022). Surge in Labour Productivity in Building Construction Activities. Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 41(11), 18-27. https://doi.org/10.9734/cjast/2022/ v41i1131699 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Monachese, A. P., Gómez-Villarino, M. T., López-Santiago, J., Sanz, E., Almeida-Ñauñay, A. F., & Zubelzu, S. (2025). Challenges and Innovations in Urban Drainage Systems: Sustainable Drainage Systems Focus. Water, 17(1), 76. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17010076 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Mishra S. P., Sethi K. C., Mohammad Siddique, 2020, Emerging threats during Anthropocene as urban Flooding of Bhubaneswar city, India, Water and Energy International, CBIP, New Delhi, 46-58 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Kumar, R., & Reddy, M. (2022). Safety audits in construction: An Indian perspective. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 13(6), 145–156. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Singh Medha, 2024. Bengaluru Building Collapse: 3 Killed, Several Still Trapped; Rescue Ops Underway | Updates. Updated 22 October 2024 at 23:16 IST [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Chaturvedi PK., Nanda Ku., Lamba LR., Nirwal V. (2023). A Parametric Optimisation for Decision Making of Building Envelope Design: A Case Study of High-Rise Residential Building in Jaipur (India)In book: Advances in Clean Energy and Sustainability, Green Energy and Technology, DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-2279-6_39 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Singh, S., et al. (2022). A Parametric Optimisation for Decision Making of Building Envelope Design: A Case Study of High-Rise Residential Building in Jaipur, India. ResearchGate. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Links Referred: [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/flats-collapse-in-gurgaon-society-1-dead-search-on-for-others/articleshow/89489042.cms [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2024/Oct/23/death-toll-in-bengaluru-building-collapse-reaches-eight-owner-contractor-taken-into-custody [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. https://www.news18.com/india/bengaluru-building-collapse-that-killed-6-points-to-violation-of-rules-by-builders-9096104.html [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. https://www.indiatoday.in/cities/bengaluru/story/bengaluru-under-construction-building-collapse-heavy-rain-waterlogging-deaths-trapped-rescue-operations-2621256-2024-10-22 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. https://economictimes.com/news/india/one-worker-dead-in-under-construction-building-collapse-in-bengaluru-14-rescued/articleshow/114485894.cms [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bengaluru-news/bengalurus-own-antilia-5-floor-building-in-250-sq-ft-plot-shocks-internet-bbmp-demolishes-101730094689413.html [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/real-estate/gurgaon-apartment-roof-collapse-heres-what-homebuyers-should-know-about-structural-safety-of-buildings-8081561.html [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/babusapalya-building-collapse-owners-remote-supervision-under-investigation/articleshow/114557532.cms [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. https://www.ndtv.com/gurgaon-news/cbi-takes-over-probe-in-chintels-paradiso-collapse-developer-ashok-saloman-booked-3700310 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/babusapalya-building-collapse-aftermath-bbmp-begins-survey-of-illegal-structures-3261943 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. https://ndrf.gov.in/en/operations/building-collapse-gurugram-hr-2022 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. https://www.ndtv.com/topic/gurgaon-building-collapse [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPVtFOR2Sjs [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/building-wall-collapses-in-gurgaon-labourer-dies-2-injured/articleshow/121007925.cms [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUsymXwGjoU [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzcMFZaNqPc [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROwWTnThWDo [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

55. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/toi-original/gurugram-apartment-collapse-expert-points-out-structural-problems-in-chintels-paradiso-society/videoshow/89511807.cms [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

56. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elXfQJS3Fts [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

57. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBbfzxmSSYx/?hl=en [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Students' Perception Towards Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education in India
• Strategic Leadership and Cybersecurity Readiness in Digitally Transforming Organisations
• Spatial Distribution of Tourism Infrastructure in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi Urban Areas of Anambra State.
• Emerging Technologies, Education and Skill Development for A Sustainable Blue Economy in Nigeria.
• Quantum Dot–Based Solar Cells: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Prospects