Pune building collapse: Preliminary probe suggests negligence by company, criminal action initiated

Pune, July 13 (PTI) A preliminary inquiry into the collapse of a three-storey building at the waste-to-energy project in Pune district, which killed nine people, has found that an occupancy certificate had been issued only for the ground floor on the firm's request, a senior civic official said on Monday. He said the Maharashtra government has constituted an independent high-level technical inquiry committee to investigate the incident, which occurred in the Moshi area of Pimpri Chinchwad on July 8. Separately, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has initiated criminal action against Antony Lara Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd, the private company operating the facility, municipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi said, adding that an FIR will be registered on the charge of culpable homicide. He 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. The three-storey administrative building of a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation at Moshi in Pune district collapsed after the mound of garbage crashed onto the structure like a landslide, killing nine individuals. 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 includes 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. "The government has constituted a completely independent committee to investigate the incident and suggest measures to prevent such incidents in future," Suryawanshi added. The commissioner said the civic body has also initiated the process of registering an FIR against the company operating the waste-to-energy plant, alleging negligence that led to the deaths of contract workers. "The process of filing an FIR against the company is underway, and it will be registered by late tonight. The offence will be registered under provisions relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and other applicable laws," he said. The commissioner alleged that the company 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. "The company was expected to ensure safety at the plant. It should have monitored whether the garbage mound was becoming unstable during the heavy rains and taken preventive measures. Prima facie, these aspects point to negligence," Suryawanshi said. He added that the preliminary inquiry has found that the company had obtained permission only for the ground floor of the building, and an occupancy certificate had also been issued only for that floor. "It has come to light during the preliminary inquiry that permission was sought only for the ground floor and the occupancy certificate was also granted only for the ground floor," he said. The commissioner added that the primary responsibility for safety rested with the company. "The company had constructed the building, and, as per the agreement, plant safety was its responsibility. Therefore, the FIR will be against the company's responsible officers," he said. Suryawanshi said Chief Engineer Sanjay Kulkarni, who was in charge of the department overseeing the waste-to-energy plant, has been divested of all responsibilities with immediate effect. Executive Engineer Yogesh Alhat has also been stripped of all departmental responsibilities, he said. The commissioner said show-cause notices have been issued to the company as well as Kulkarni and Alhat, directing them to submit their replies by 5 pm on Tuesday. Mahendra Ananthula, Group President, Antony Waste Group, had described the July 8 incident as an "act of God". "This was something like an act of God, a natural calamity... somehow we could not, no one can predict it. The kind of rainfall witnessed over the last four to five days could not have been predicted. Similar incidents have occurred in different parts of the country over the past week," he told reporters on Saturday evening after meeting the families of the victims. He said the company would bear the entire medical expenses of those injured in the incident, and announced a compensation package of Rs 25 lakh for the families of each deceased victim through the company's contribution and insurance policy. In addition, the company will offer a full-time job to one immediate family member of each deceased person and bear the education expenses of their minor children, he had said. PTI SPK NSK