DNA Edit: Rubble of reality

The facts that have emerged from the rubble of what was once a four-storeyed building in Ghatkopar evoke anger and grief at the same time.

With 12 people dead, including two babies and a 14-year-old girl, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) fragile writ stands exposed. Shiv Sena worker Sunil Shitap, who allegedly made illegal alterations in his ground-floor flat despite the residents objecting to it, has demonstrated that even a low-level functionary of a ruling party can thumb his nose at the corporation’s rules.

That act of defiance has had devastating consequences. Shitap’s arrest and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s assurance that the state government and BMC would launch a probe, notwithstanding, the culture of impunity that has thrived among the rich and powerful in the city will ensure building regulations are more honoured in the breach than in the observance. Will the state government make an example out of Shitap now that the Sena has dissociated itself from him? 

In 2013, in the wake of another building collapse, BMC had demanded life imprisonment for those who weaken pillars, columns and beams upon which a building’s weight rests. It took the latest tragedy to remind BMC of its resolve.

The nexus of contractors, civic officials and elected representatives in BMC is a well-known story that doesn’t merit a retelling. It’s a common phenomenon in most Indian cities, but hogs the limelight in Mumbai because of the hundreds of crores of rupees involved.