Lloyd estate wall collapse: Residents allege authorities, builder colluded

The reinforced concrete wall (circled in red) with BMC's Building Proposal Department building in the background (the one with the green steeple roof)

A 40-foot-high Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) wall was constructed by Dosti Realty diagonally opposite Lloyd Estate and Dosti Blossom to prevent any cave-in on that side, inspections by structural experts have revealed. On that side is the office of civic body's Building Proposal Department, the very same department that had given Dosti permission for its upcoming project.

As many as seven vehicles were buried in the cave-in at Wadala

BMC-approved structural engineer Nitin Kamble of Nitin & Associates, who had carried out extensive checks at both Dosti Blossom and Lloyd Estate, had, since 2017, been writing letters about the cracks and unevenness visible on the pavements and about the sunken driveway ever since the excavation work started and expressed fears about future damage to the structures around it and to human life.

The engineer had also recommended that an RCC wall be constructed around the excavated areas (as per the audit report and after numerous personal site conversations with the site engineers and structural engineers) to avoid any further damage to the residential buildings, but these were blatantly ignored by the developer.

The cracks, as pointed out by a structural engineer back in January this year, in the BMC's Building Proposal Department, diagonally opposite the site of last week's cave-in at Wadala

Kamble said, "On Sunday, when I visited the site, I was shocked to find that an RCC wall had already been constructed diagonally opposite Lloyd Estate and Dosti Blossom, and the building proposal department building was merely 20 metres from the wall. This is the same distance between the excavated area that caved in last week and Lloyd Estate building. The closest distance from the excavated area to Dosti Blossom is just six metres, of which one side of Dosti Blossom is merely three meters away."

Kamble, in his letter dated August 4, 2017, had mentioned the cave-in of July 31, 2017 at the construction site, mere metres from the RCC wall. "In our audit report, submitted to BMC, we had stated clearly that an RCC wall from the excavated level (which at present is around 40 feet) to the ground level of Lloyd's Estate should be constructed to avoid any landslide, but other than doing piecemeal work of reinforcing a few areas, no wall was constructed," he said.

About the retaining wall being only on one side of the excavated area, Kamble said, "The approximate plot area excavated for construction is around 60 metres x 100 metres. The RCC wall being built only next to the Building Proposal Department is obviously to avoid any cave-in situation right under the building that has a direct impact on their work."

Post the cave-in last week, the developer was quick to use 179 tons of concrete to prevent a further cave-in. However, eyewitnesses claim that the developer has also used soft soil to backfill the caved-in spot. This according to experts might lead to another cave-in in case of heavy to very heavy rainfall, where the soil will be washed away.

G B Yadav, a managing committee member at Lloyd Estate, said, "If they [developer] have constructed an RCC wall at only the excavated portion facing the Building Proposal Department, it is evident that the developer is trying to keep the BMC happy."

Dr G M Rana, another resident, said, "This clearly shows connivance between the Building Proposal Department and the developer. Also, the irony is that the Building Proposal Department is giving permissions without even conducting proper inspections."

Also read: Lloyd estate wall collapse: BMC to appoint special body for structural audit of Wadala towers