Mumbai:
48 hours after Altaf Mansion in central Mumbai's Mahim came crashing down, leaving 10 people dead, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has promised that it will take action against those found guilty.
"If there was some illegal work, or some work in the basement or a car showroom by an owner and if the municipal ward office of the area had knowledge of this and the concerned building authorities didn't stop this, the person responsible will be investigated and action will be taken," Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu told NDTV. Locals had alleged that illegal alterations in the building led to the tragedy.
The BMC also said that records of the building which were reported to have been missing have been retrieved. The documents are crucial from the probe to find what caused the building to collapse. The documents will help establish whether structural changes made to the 30-year-old building contributed to the crash.
"We have got a copy of the plan from the water department. And we will form a committee under the ward department and carry out a full inquiry regarding how the building fell and action will then be taken against whoever is responsible for this," Ram Barot, Chairman of BMC's Building Improvement Committee, told NDTV.
Although the building was not on the list of unsafe buildings, the civic body is taking no chances. After the Altaf Mansion crash, civic authorities have decided to forcefully evict all residents living in unsafe buildings across the city. 959 buildings across Mumbai have been declared unsafe in a pre-monsoon survey by the BMC. The BMC is likely to face resistance as residents are likely to refuse moving out fearing losing control over their property and losing their homes.
Mumbai's Mayor says the rehabilitation policy needs to change so that the public has faith in it and stop living in unsafe building. But while the mayor mulls policy change, experts say, it would be easier to crack down on illegal alterations which weaken structures in the first place, something the BMC has failed to do.