Urgent repairs needed: BMC audit last yr

Some startling facts have surfaced regarding Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Dockyard Road building collapse. It has come to light that the civic body’s own audit last year had advised not to delay its repairs any more. However, the civic officials kept sitting on the report for almost a year, which led to building collapse, claiming 54 lives and injuring several. The Babu Genu civic building was categorised as C2 (B), which means it was dilapidated but repairable. But, the structural audit carried out by the BMC on November 5, 2012, had specifically said that the building needed immediate extensive structural repairs and any delay would affect the structure adversely. The report prepared by a private structural auditor had asked for prompt temporary shifting of residents to alternate accommodation, since the repairs would take at least a year. “The building needs urgent propping and repairs of its beams, slab and columns on ground floor should be started at the earliest,” it had stated. Additional municipal commissioner S.V.R. Srinivas said, “Construction work for a mezzanine floor was going on in the godown on the ground floor, which led to the increase in the load on the building. This may have led to the collapse.” It has also been learnt that the ground floor was rented out to M/s Mamamiya Decorators, who had allegedly carried out illegal structural alterations. “The decorator was occupying the place illegally as his lease had expired and the BMC had not renewed it,” said local Shiv Sena corporator Yamini Jadhav. Meanwhile, in the backdrop of this horrific incident, the BMC has decided to form a separate cell to ensure the safety of city buildings. The building safety commissioner’s department will be headed by a retired judge and would consist of experts from IIT, VJTI and structural consultants. Additional municipal commissioner Rajiv Jalota said that the 1998 guidelines for appointing a commissioner for building safety would be followed. He also said that civic employees whose negligence caused the collapse would be investigated and action would be taken against them. “We have asked for all the files and are also mooting a change in the tendering system to expedite the whole process,” said Mr Jalota.