Mumbai: CII owes BMC Rs 95,000 for Make in India fire debris

The heaps of scrap left behind by the fire at Make in India week's Maharashtra Night have been lying unattended at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Kamathipura workshop and will cost Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the organisers, quite dearly. The CII owes the BMC almost Rs 95,000 for the debris.

Also read: Fire at Make In India event: Over 50 tonnes of scrap dumped in Kamathipura

mid-day had earlier reported about the matter on February 23, ‘Over 50 tonnes of scrap dumped in Kamathipura' but the debris is still occupying an area of over 50 square metres at the BMC workshop. The fire had taken place at Girgaum Chowpatty on February 14.

The BMC on February 24 had written to CII stating, "You are directed to remove and clear the space/area (where scrap is kept) by making payment of Rs 4,475 per day (stacking charges of Rs 1,175 per day + security charges Rs 3,300 in three shifts) for the period from 15/02/2016 onwards to MCGM immediately within 2 days from the receipt of this letter. Further, if you fail to comply, the scrap material will be disposed off at your risk and cost, however, the stacking and security charges will be applicable till disposal date."

But the civic body has not heard from the organisers yet. "We had written to them about it and had asked them to pay up. But we have received no response yet," said an official from D ward, under which Girgaum Chowpatty falls.

While CII official Mohan Gawde said he did not know of the matter and would find out about it before commenting, another CII official said he had received communication from MCGM and will do the needful after discussing the matter with the stakeholders.

Another big amount
Recently, it had also come to light that BMC had spent Rs 8.06 lakh to clear the 315 metric tonnes on the night of the fire on February 14. When the state government ordered the BMC to clear the site immediately, additional staff was roped in from several wards, apart from 10 JCBs, 29 dumpers, two compactors. A total of 198 labourers and 80 supervisors worked in shifts to clear the site. Thus, the BMC also told the CII about the debt, which are yet to come its way. An FIR was filed against Wizcraft and Additional CP (South region) Pratap Dighavkar said, "It seems like Wizcraft is responsible and the expert report of the fire brigade said the same."