Devendra Fadnavis: Wadala cave-in accused will be tried as criminals

Devendra Fadnavis

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said because the Bombay High Court had already taken over the probe in the incident in which a parking lot and internal road of a building in Wadala had caved in because of haphazard construction work carried out by Dosti Realty on the neighbouring plot, the state government couldn't do much in fixing the responsibility of officials and developers involved.

However, Fadnavis said the BMC officials, engineers and developers, who the court-appointed experts committee had been asked to probe and hold responsible for the incident and the damage caused, would be booked and tried for a criminal offence.

The incident happened on June 25 during heavy rain when the shore piling of the building collapsed. Apparently, the digging work on the adjoining plot, where a residential tower is proposed to be built, caused the first-of-its-kind cave-in in the financial capital. In view of a fear that their buildings, too, could have developed structural weakness, the occupants of the adjoining buildings were asked to vacate their flats. They have since returned.

The issue was raised by Samajwadi Party's Abu Azmi and other legislators from Mumbai. According to the CM, this particular construction activity carried out by Dosti Realty had courted controversy last year when retaining walls of the buildings Llyods Estate and Wadala Heights had developed cracks. The residents of the affected buildings had moved the Sessions Court in July 2017. The court had appointed structural consultant Shantilal Jain as a court commissioner to recommend corrective action at the time.

Fadnavis said as the matter was sub-judice, the court commissioner was summoned to assess the damages and recommend structural correction. The commissioner suggested that the residents should return home because their building was structurally sound, he said.

When members demanded a probe, the CM said the HC had already asked IIT Bombay to find out reasons for the cave-in, assess damages and recommend a future course of action. "What would a separate probe do? IIT has been asked to do the job and we should wait for its report," he said, adding that the people found guilty in the probe would be tried in a criminal court.

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