Taking suo motu cognisance of a media report, the NHRC has issued a notice to the State chief secretary, asking for a report on the Moulivakkam building collapse within two weeks.
By Wednesday, the number of casualties had risen to 47. A total of 27 people have been rescued from the site so far.
A press release issued on Wednesday by the New Delhi-based NHRC said the media report had quoted Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s statement that construction defects was one reason behind the building collapse, and the builder had violated various norms.
The commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of the persons who lost their lives and of those who were injured in the tragedy, said the release.
Interestingly, on the same day, the NHRC issued a notice to the Delhi government, holding the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) responsible for the building collapse in Karol Bagh on March 30, 2012, in which four persons died.
The commission said that callousness, negligence and inaction on the part of MCD officials were clearly established as causes for the structure’s collapse.
