RTI activists were surprised at the apathy of the municipal corporation on the follow-up and the action against those who violate fire safety rules.
RTI activists discover that action taken by BMC did not match the recommendations
On the day when the Bandra metropolitan court issued a non-bailable warrant against AD Jhandwal, BMC’s former chief fire officer (CFO), RTI activists were surprised at the apathy of the municipal corporation on the follow-up and the action against those who violate fire safety rules.
In an RTI inspection at the fire office, activists discovered that little action had been taken against industrial estates that were found violating norms even after the Retiwala Industrial Estate tragedy.
The findings of the inspection indicated that the action taken by BMC barely matched what the fire department had recommended. The fire department recommended action against 118 industrial estates in the city, 299 in western suburbs and 101 in eastern suburbs.
However, the municipal corporation fared poorly in follow-up action. Besides three wards that had forfeited the deposit in some cases, the action taken was restricted to issuing notices.
“What we are seeing is the typical apathy of BMC. The police and the fire brigade act as the eyes and hands of the authorities. But these guys are bending every rule in the book to accommodate temporary interest,” activist Krishnaraj Rao, who was part of the RTI inspection, said.
“We feel that more action should be taken. This list on the violations was given to the additional municipal commissioner, who had sent notices to the ward officers for action to be taken against the violators. We have sent two reminders to wards on the action taken till now,” deputy fire officer P Karguppikar said,
“What they do not understand is that this kind of temporary work is what ails the city. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Rao.
Additional municipal commissioner, Kishore Gajbhiye refuted the claims. “Action has been taken and all the assistant commissioners have issued notices. In some cases, FIR was lodged and some units have been closed down, too. Why don’t you wait for the updated information? The CFO is yet to compile the data and send it to me,” he said.
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