DNA
Mumbai, Jul 22: Two days after Laxmi Chhaya building at Borivili came crashing down, the BMC pulls out the nine-year-old Govind Towers fact-finding report, which suggests ways to regulate building projects. While the state government has plans to issue an ordinance that governs construction and renovation projects, victims pick up what is left of their lives two days after the incident
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) needed a building collapse at Borivili — which killed 29 people — to dust up an eight-year-old report on the Govind Tower collapse in Kherwadi, where 35 people lost their lives.
Shockingly, the BMC does not have a rule that can check random illegal construction. BMC Commissioner Jairaj Phatak admits, “There is no BMC rule to check illegal construction. We cannot do anything unless a complaint id filed. The collapsed building is not on the dilapidated list and nobody ever complained about illegal modifications.”
That is why the BMC has decided to dust up the old report, which was submitted after Govind Tower collapsed in 1998. “We will send it to the Standing Committee, then the corporation, and then to the state government so that the BMC law can be changed,” said Phatak.
A senior BMC official said the then BMC authorities superseded the standing committee and directly sent the fact-finding report to the Urban and Development Department (U&D). The same report will once again be returned to the BMC by U&D. “Had the report been tabled with the BMC then, things would have been different. There would have been a law that deals with such issues,” he said.
In the Govind Towers report, ex-commissioner Karun Shrivastav suggested that builders should get a licence from the BMC, and only licensed one should be allowed to operate. If not, the penalty should be either one-year’s simple imprisonment or a Rs25,000 fine. “Now any architect on behalf of land owner can get the permission. In cases of house collapses like the Borivili one, architects should be dismissed from their registered body,” said a senior officer.
I am innocent, says jeweller
Kailash Jain, the 39-year-old owner of Vardhaman Jewellers, who has been blamed for the collapse of the building at Borivili, said he had not done anything wrong. “The society is framing me,” he claimed.
Jain was booked on Thursday, based on allegations made by society residents that he had tampered with the support beam while carrying out repairs in his ground floor shops, which led to the collapse.
However, Jain maintained that the pillar was not touched during renovation work. “We were replastering the place and getting the furniture redone,” he said. Interestingly, he claimed the society had given him permission to carry out the work. “I also issued them two checks of Rs1,000 each for the work.”
Jain, who had three shops (galas 4, 5, 6) in the building, claimed that work at one of his shops — previously leased to one Darshan Electric — began only three days before the building collapsed. “I did not attempt to ground the partition between the shops.”
He added, “Why would I tamper the beam when my own family stayed on the first floor. My family is going through hell. And these false allegations are only adding to my worries. I am innocent.”
Society office bearer Moolchand Cheeda admitted that the society had taken a deposit amount of Rs2,000 from the jeweller, but denied that he was given permission for the renovation work. Though, Jain was summoned by the police, he is yet to report at the police station as he is in Nashik.