The unholy nexus between builders, politicians and officials
must be held fully responsible for illegal constructions and subsequent
loss of lives and revenues
Till the time of writing this report, 40 people have lost their lives and over 69 are injured when a seven-storey building collapsed at Daighar area in Shil Phata near Thane. However, this has raised some serious questions about the unholy nexus between fly-by-night builders, local political leaders and government officials.
The point in this case is that the area between Kalwa-Mumbra (near Daighar) and Diva and Dombivali is notorious for illegal construction activities. This area full of marshland and anyone who wants to be a builder buys truckloads of debris and empties it on the marshy land, thus killing the protection of mangroves. Soon after, a new building is erected on the land. The surprising factor is the speed at which the builders (less than three months for a four to five storeyed building) are now constructing these illegal structures.
The collapsed seven-storey building in Lucky Compound was built in just two months! While the Daighar police registered a case against builders Salil and Khalil Jamadar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), the brothers have become untraceable immediately after the incident.
Civic officials had said that the building was unauthorised and was built on forestland. Some local residents claim that the building was built over a nullah. This raises further questions.
How were the builders allowed to develop the land that is not suitable for residential purpose? What were the civic officials doing for over two months while the building was being erected from ground zero? And who provided water and electricity for the construction activities? Aren't these people also responsible for the deaths?
In the 1990s, this area was less populated than nearby places like Dombivali. In fact, Mumbra had a population of less than 45,000. In 2012, the small-time village has grown into a city with a population of over nine lakh. However, since majority of people are outsiders, Mumbra has only 1.75 lakh registered voters.
This overcrowding has led to ever-increasing demand for houses, with basic amenities and not spacious flats. This explains the sudden increase in chawl structures on marshy lands near Diva. While small flats are available for Rs4-Rs5 lakh each, newer flats cost between Rs16 lakh and Rs22 lakh. However, one can still find a room (obviously in illegal structure) for less than Rs2 lakh.
Another interesting aspect about these illegal construction activities is this use of the maximum available space. All such illegal buildings and chawls are built in such a way that there is no space in between them for any movement. In fact, there are no roads, so not even an auto-rickshaw can pass between these buildings. This serves two purposes, one the builder gets more money and second, in case the civic authorities decide to demolish it, their machinery simply cannot reach the spot.
Neither the civic officials nor the police attempt to stop this illegal construction because the builders are shielded by political godfathers. In addition, everybody is kept happy with payoffs too, but no one wants to take any action. Sometimes, even if they want, either the police fail to provide any cover to them, or the builder gets the shield from his political godfather. Therefore, everybody tries to make some moolah by ignoring the illegal activities, until some mishap happens.
In the current case also, the absconding builders would surrender before the police after making some settlement using their political connections. Then the case would go to court and the builders would be out of jail to start constructing another illegal building in some other corner of the city. In addition, we all will forget about it until the next mishap.
The only way to stop all this is to hold the civic officials and local elected representative also responsible along with the builder for such mishaps and deaths.
Till the time of writing this report, 40 people have lost their lives and over 69 are injured when a seven-storey building collapsed at Daighar area in Shil Phata near Thane. However, this has raised some serious questions about the unholy nexus between fly-by-night builders, local political leaders and government officials.
The point in this case is that the area between Kalwa-Mumbra (near Daighar) and Diva and Dombivali is notorious for illegal construction activities. This area full of marshland and anyone who wants to be a builder buys truckloads of debris and empties it on the marshy land, thus killing the protection of mangroves. Soon after, a new building is erected on the land. The surprising factor is the speed at which the builders (less than three months for a four to five storeyed building) are now constructing these illegal structures.
The collapsed seven-storey building in Lucky Compound was built in just two months! While the Daighar police registered a case against builders Salil and Khalil Jamadar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), the brothers have become untraceable immediately after the incident.
Civic officials had said that the building was unauthorised and was built on forestland. Some local residents claim that the building was built over a nullah. This raises further questions.
How were the builders allowed to develop the land that is not suitable for residential purpose? What were the civic officials doing for over two months while the building was being erected from ground zero? And who provided water and electricity for the construction activities? Aren't these people also responsible for the deaths?
In the 1990s, this area was less populated than nearby places like Dombivali. In fact, Mumbra had a population of less than 45,000. In 2012, the small-time village has grown into a city with a population of over nine lakh. However, since majority of people are outsiders, Mumbra has only 1.75 lakh registered voters.
This overcrowding has led to ever-increasing demand for houses, with basic amenities and not spacious flats. This explains the sudden increase in chawl structures on marshy lands near Diva. While small flats are available for Rs4-Rs5 lakh each, newer flats cost between Rs16 lakh and Rs22 lakh. However, one can still find a room (obviously in illegal structure) for less than Rs2 lakh.
Another interesting aspect about these illegal construction activities is this use of the maximum available space. All such illegal buildings and chawls are built in such a way that there is no space in between them for any movement. In fact, there are no roads, so not even an auto-rickshaw can pass between these buildings. This serves two purposes, one the builder gets more money and second, in case the civic authorities decide to demolish it, their machinery simply cannot reach the spot.
Neither the civic officials nor the police attempt to stop this illegal construction because the builders are shielded by political godfathers. In addition, everybody is kept happy with payoffs too, but no one wants to take any action. Sometimes, even if they want, either the police fail to provide any cover to them, or the builder gets the shield from his political godfather. Therefore, everybody tries to make some moolah by ignoring the illegal activities, until some mishap happens.
In the current case also, the absconding builders would surrender before the police after making some settlement using their political connections. Then the case would go to court and the builders would be out of jail to start constructing another illegal building in some other corner of the city. In addition, we all will forget about it until the next mishap.
The only way to stop all this is to hold the civic officials and local elected representative also responsible along with the builder for such mishaps and deaths.
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