Pune building collapse: FIR against 2 officials of pvt company for negligence; one arrested

Pune, Jul 14 (PTI) Pimpri Chinchwad Police in the district have arrested the project head of Antony Lara Enviro Solutions Pvt Ltd in connection with the July 8 garbage dump collapse at Moshi that claimed the lives of nine workers, an official said on Tuesday. A case was registered at the MIDC Bhosari police station on Monday against the company's project head Ashok Gupta and safety officer Vijay Sapkal. Gupta was subsequently arrested. Antony Lara Enviro Solutions operated a waste-to-energy plant at the site. "The project head, the accused number one in the case, was arrested on Monday. The second accused, the safety officer, will also be arrested. We are conducing further investigation," the police officer told reporters. The First Information Report has been registered under Sections 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125 (rash or negligent act that endangers human life) and other relevant provisions. Nine workers were killed after a massive mound of legacy waste at the Moshi garbage depot in Pimpri Chinchwad hit a three-storey building on July 8, causing it to collapse and trapping about two dozen workers inside. The complaint registered by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) officials claimed that no safety measures were taken despite knowing that heavy rains could pose a danger to the sanitary landfill (SLF) at the location. "As no security measures were adopted, a portion of SLF (mound of waste) collapsed on the three-storey building on July 8, claiming nine lives," the FIR stated. On Monday, the civic body stated that a preliminary inquiry into the incident showed that an occupancy certificate had been issued only for the ground floor on the firm's request. The Maharashtra government has constituted an independent high-level technical inquiry committee to investigate the incident, PCMC Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryavanshi said. The company prima facie failed to ensure safety at the plant despite continuous heavy rainfall and did not take adequate precautions even though a massive mound of legacy waste was located adjacent to the residential building that collapsed, he said. Suryawanshi said the Urban Development Department has appointed an independent committee to conduct a "fair and comprehensive technical inquiry" into the incident and recommend measures to prevent such accidents in future. The committee will be headed by Divisional Commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugale and include the regional officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, D N Singh of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay's structural engineering department, and environmental and solid waste management expert Anil Kumar Dixit. The assistant commissioner (disaster management) will serve as the member secretary, the civic chief said. PTI SPK GK KRK