Mumbai: Four days after Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay submitted its report on the Wadala cave-in suggesting remedial measures to be carried out along Lloyd’s Estate and Dosti Realty buildings, the Bombay high court on Wednesday directed all the parties to give an affidavit for abiding by the measures as suggested by the expert team and the court commissioner under the supervision of a high-ranking Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official.
A division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka said, “I won’t hear contradictions on this report by any agency. The objective is not to pin blame but to ascertain facts and to suggest long-term remedial measures.”
The court added that a committee of a senior official of MCGM/BMC and IIT experts has been formed and BMC has to ensure that work is carried out as per IIT-B directives. The court has asked all parties, including builders and BMC, to submit an affidavit agreeing to the same and has asked them to refrain from approaching, suggesting or complaining to IIT directly.
The 24-page report submitted by the institute in the last hearing stated that no major structural cracks or distress were observed in the buildings and also pointed that the observations made by structural consultant Nitin Kamble, who had alerted the BMC about a possible mishap because of construction activity in Dosti Realty, were not convincing.
The report, however, suggested measures such as erection of steel struts and barricading of basement so as to not allow parking of cars till the retaining system is in place. The report said while the excavation being carried out in Dosti would not affect the nearby Lloyd’s Estate, the buildings would be closely monitored for future distress.
The compound wall of the Lloyd’s Estate building, located adjacent to the construction site of Dosti Realty, had caved-in on June 25, burying several vehicles in the debris. The residents had staged protests over inaction by BMC and asked builders to stop the construction.
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