Mhada sits on building collapse report

Almost two months after the collapse of 100-year-old Gulmohar building in Kamathipura, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) is yet to come out with a report fixing the responsibility for the same.

The preliminary report on the collapse that killed six people on April 30, 2016, termed it an accident and blamed the excavation work being carried out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The preliminary report which was prepared right after the collapse said the excavation work on the existing road in front of the Gulmohar building caused vibrations and could have been a probable reason for the building giving in and collapsing.

The BMC had denied any foul play.

Later, on May 10, 2016, Sumnat Bhange, chief executive officer, Mhada, repair and redevelopment board, said, “We will soon come out with a technical report on the reason behind the collapse and fixing the responsibility.”

On June 1, 2016, the state housing minister Prakash Mehta asked Mr Bhange to make the report public as to who was responsible for the collapse. However, till date Mhada officials have not made the report public. When contacted Mr Bhange said, “We have already prepared the report and we will make it public after getting an approval from the vice-president of Mhada.”

When this correspondent asked S.S. Zende, vice-president, Mhada, he said, “It has been 45 days after the collapse but I have not received any report on the collapse; however, we are working on the same and the report will be made public shortly.”

Meanwhile, sources from Mhada said that senior officials are delaying making the technical report public, as Mhada officials were found guilty for the collapse.

The BMC officials from the E-ward had in May 2016 claimed that it had already communicated to the Mhada back in April 2015 that Gulmohar building was in bad shape and required repair works, an advice that Mhada allegedly did not pay heed to. The no-objection certificate (NOC) for carrying out repair works for the building was issued in April 2016, which was a year after the BMC gave its warning.