After suspending Vivek Rahi, assistant municipal commissioner of ‘B’ ward, in the wake of the Dongri building collapse, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is investigating the role of other ward staff.
After the collapse of Kesarbai building on Tuesday, the BMC had maintained that the structure was under the purview of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), which was collecting a cess on it. Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi had said in a meeting on Wednesday that no action was proposed against the ward staff.
However, BJP corporator Makarand Narvekar said in the same meeting that he had complained to the assistant commissioner of B ward about five cases of illegal construction, but no action was taken.
On Thursday, the commissioner’s office conveyed these details to the vigilance department, which sent staff on site to verify the information. It submitted a preliminary report to the commissioner saying the construction in question seemed to be illegal and would have to be probed in detail. The BMC concluded that there was a supervisory lapse on Mr. Rahi’s part, and suspended him, pending a departmental inquiry. He had taken charge of B ward only a month ago.
“We are also looking into how officials of the building and factories department were unable to stop illegal construction. An officer will be assigned to this inquiry soon,” a senior officer said.
Since the collapse, the BMC has written to owners of around 20 buildings that are older than 30 years to carry out structural audits. MHADA, too, has started vacating dangerous buildings.
