Investigations revealed that politician Sunil Shitap, main
accused in the case, had tampered with the building's columns, even removing
some of them, which eventually caused the structure to crash
MUMBAI:
In a first, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is moving to amend a
crucial section of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act 1888 following
the ill-fated Ghatkopar building crash which killed 17 persons last month.
Investigations
revealed that politician Sunil Shitap, main accused in the case, had tampered
with the building's columns, even removing some of them, which eventually
caused the structure to crash.
Hence,
the BMC has decided to tread carefully when repairs in a building can affect
its columns in any way. The civic body's law officer has been asked to remove
'guniting,' a form of repairs in which the column is exposed, from the ambit of
'tenantable repairs'.
Currently,
guniting is included under section 342 of the MMC Act under which a person who
intends to make any alterations or repairs to a building involving removal,
alteration or re-erection of any part of the building, can do so without having
to procure any permission from the civic body.
Tenantable
repairs in the section clearly include guniting and plastering, painting,
changing floor tiles, flattening of roof or repairing roof with different
material. "However in case of guniting we have realized that plastering is
done under tremendous pressure if the condition of the column has deteriorated.
A weak column may not be able to withstand such force. For any work as such,
the BMC's nod would henceforth be made mandatory," said a senior civic
official. The plan is to incorporate guniting under section 337 of the MMC Act
wherein a notice would be required to be given to the commissioner about the
work to be undertaken.
The
official said investigations into the Ghatkopar collapse are highlighting how
Shitap tampered with the building columns causing it to crash and therefore the
BMC wants to put in place measures so that such incidents can be completely
avoided. "The investigation report is likely to table a few
recommendations as well. However as an immediate measure, the law officer has
been instructed to work upon amending the Act in a way that permission of the
civic body is taken in case any person intends to tamper with the building
structure to a large extent," said the official.
The
report into the building crash is expected to be out only on August 21, said a
member of the enquiry committee. "The report is in its final stages and it
should be out by next week," said an official.
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