As per the petition filed by Shah through his advocate Madhav Jamdar, his father was in possession of a premise in Kesawaji Valjji Sapra chawl near Thakhuri railway station since 1970. After his demise, Shah was running the flour mill.
Not adopting proper safety measures while demolishing an illegal building proved costly for the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC).
The Bombay High Court recently directed it to pay a compensation of over Rs 2.5 lakh to a flour mill owner, whose shop collapsed because of the debris that fell on it during the demolition work. A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and CV Bhadang directed KDMC to compensate Mewalal Shah Rs2 lakh within one month and also pay him Rs50,000 for the litigation fees incurred by him. The civic body will also have to pay a monthly compensation of Rs5,000 from August 2012, when his shop collapsed.
As per the petition filed by Shah through his advocate Madhav Jamdar, his father was in possession of a premise in Kesawaji Valjji Sapra chawl near Thakhuri railway station since 1970. After his demise, Shah was running the flour mill. In 2012, the corporation had demolished a ground-plus-four-storey illegal structure adjacent to his shop. The debris from the demolition had fallen on the shop, leading to its collapse. He approached the municipal commissioner, seeking damages, and was informed that the official concerned will act accordingly.
The officer in-charge of the demolition said due care was taken to ensure that debris did not fall on the shop. He also sought details of the shop — licence and other documents. Meanwhile, the owners of the property on which the flour mill was built put up an illegal shed.
In court, Shah submitted electricity bills and shop licence renewal receipt, indicating that a flour mill was functioning there at the time of the collapse. After going through the documents and affidavits of the civic body and the land owners, it was noted by the court that none of them disputed the existence of the mill at the place. Moreover, the fact that the new shed was put up without the corporation's permission was also not disputed.
Accordingly, the court held that Shah was right in his claims and told the civic body to demolish the new shed and reconstruct the shop as was it before the collapse. It said, "The only inference which can be drawn is that due to failure on part of the municipal corporation to take care, the debris of RCC structure fell down on the said shop which led to its collapse."
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