'DNA' EDIT: A system buried under the rubble

A seven-storey concrete structure in Thane crumbling down like a house of cards, and taking with it the residents of the building is shocking. At 42 and still counting, the death toll is staggering, and is likely to rise until everyone missing is accounted for. The collapse was a result of a series of crucial omissions and criminal indifference on the part of both civic authorities and residents. The disaster could have been avoided if several government agencies had just done their jobs, nothing more, nothing less.

The building was constructed on land whose title is unclear.  While the Thane Municipal Corporation claims it is forest land, the forest authorities say it’s a private plot belonging to an adivasi — the first clue to how government agencies function.

Since the structure was illegal, the builders found it convenient to keep TMC in the dark. The TMC, for obvious reasons, chose to wear blinkers as illegal structures are lucrative for a whole range of people, including local netas and governmental officials, who stand to gain in cash and kind.

The residents had proper water and electricity connections provided by the TMC and MSEDCL, respectively — yet another instance of napping.

It is difficult to digest that the residents were naive enough not to know that the building was illegal. The flats were sold at dirt cheap prices — at Rs1500 per square feet, while the market rate is Rs5500 per square feet. This sharp difference in pricing should have aroused suspicion, but the lure of buying a home was so overpowering, they didn’t bother to check the builders’ antecedents and whether the structure had the necessary approvals.

Mumbra has over 2,000 illegal buildings that have come up over the years, admits a senior TMC official. This shows how laws have been flouted with impunity, and how various forms of incentives have worked wonders to silence all levels of authority.

The builder-politician-government official nexus is an old story. The loss of lives will not change the phenomenon. Once the outrage dies, it will be back to ‘normal’.