Prithviraj Chavan, who visited the site of wall collapse at Sewri and announced a compensation of Rs1 lakh to the families of the five children who died, has been blamed for the tragedy.
Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who visited the site of wall collapse at Sewri and announced a compensation of Rs1 lakh to the families of the five children who died, has been blamed for the tragedy.
A part of the Jubilee Mills compound wall collapsed on Saturday, killing five boys who were playing on a ground adjacent to the wall.
The developer, who owns the Jubilee Mills compound where the incident occurred, said letters had been written to the chief minister, seeking early clearance for the cluster development project at the site.
“In the last letter written a month ago, we had warned the CM that all structures in the compound are in a precarious condition and if permission for redevelopment is not granted soon, a tragedy is waiting to happen,” said BR Bhattad, director of RM Bhattad Developers.
He added that Saturday’s incident may not be the last, considering the dilapidated condition of other structures in the compound.
Even as the FIR pins the blame on the builder, the developer maintains that he is no position to make any structural change since the files are pending with the officials.
Though the plans for redevelopment under 33/7 were approved by the BMC and commencement certificate was issued a couple of years ago, the project was mooted under the 33/9 (cluster development), when the urban renewal scheme was introduced by the state government.
“Our file is gathering dust at Mantralaya. We have made a series of representations to both the CM as well as Housing Secretary TC Benjamin, but to no avail,” said Bhattad.
A prominent south Mumbai-based developer said he feared that other redevelopment sites might have a similar fate.
“First, the politicians endanger people’s lives by not clearing the much-needed redevelopment of dangerous buildings. And after a tragedy, they visit the spot and announce compensation. This hypocrisy should end and genuine development work should be done,” he said.
CM Prithviraj Chavan and Benjamin could not be reached for comment.
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