Bombay HC asks state to ensure no deaths due to building collapses

07 Jul 2021 CW Team

On Monday, the Bombay High Court asked the state government to draft policies to ensure that people don’t die due to building collapses.

Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni, when hearing a suo motu PIL on building collapses, urged the state to draft policies to save human lives.

The bench concentrated on the preliminary report of a judicial inquiry into the three-storey building collapse at New Collector Compound in Malad’s Malwani in June that caused the death of 12 people, including eight children.

The judges enquired how many ground-plus illegal constructions are there in Mumbai. The amicus curiae, senior advocate Sharan Jagtiani, pointed out that as per the inquiry report, there are 8,485 constructions at New Collector Compound, of which 1,072 are ground floor, and 4,494 are ground-plus one.

The report held the BMC responsible for not maintaining supervision and vigil. But senior advocate Aspi Chinoy, with advocate Joel Carlos for BMC, said that the commissioner by mistake held that the civic body has jurisdiction to eliminate unauthorised constructions in notified slums. Chinoy said that under the Slums Act, the competent authority is the deputy collector.

Amicus curiae Jagtiani said that the BMC had told the inquiry commissioner that it had taken action against 444 of the 622 illegal constructions in Malwani village.

The judges scowled at the state for declaring a government resolution extending protection to unauthorised hutments/occupiers from 2000 to 2011 without amending the Slums Act.

In another hearing, a full HC bench extended all interim orders passed by courts in Goa and Maharashtra till August 13 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

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