Calcutta High Court today expressed unhappiness on the investigation into Garden Reach building collapse and talked tough against the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
It asked the state government and the KMC to launch crackdown on real offenders-alluding to the alleged officials, who the court believed had looked the other way on safety issues in connection with the cave-in of an unauthorised structure at Garden Reach, which had claimed 11 lives and observed that those were the “real offenders”.
Calcutta High Court at a hearing of the Garden Reach building collapse expressed disgust in which both the KMC and state submitted reports.
The court in a sarcastic observation said that the arrests of two looked good but on whether those officials, who didn’t act on safety issues and involved in the conspiracy were taken to task?
Making it clear to the civic administration, the high court observed that those officials would have to be investigated on charges of breach of discipline.
Meanwhile, mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Firhad Hakim reiterated a zero tolerance policy of the civic body on illegal construction. In a meeting held with the engineers, assistant engineers and sub-assistant engineers of the municipal corporation, the mayor urged the former not to bow down before anyone trying to obstruct the works with a show of influential persons. Reacting to the questions regarding the court’s observations, the mayor said, “We will definitely comply with the court orders. The report would be submitted by the KMC. A committee has been formed that will examine all the aspects like cause of collapse, soil, building materials, lapse of engineering and the lapse of duty of engineers. A report would be prepared on the basis of findings of these aspects and then the commissioner will decide whom to suspend.”
As pointed out by Mr Hakim, in cases of illegal buildings, the process is getting obstructed by people’s interventions. To handle the situation, the civic body has decided to induct two hearing officers.