Kolkata: Five days after the collapse of an illegal under-construction building in Garden Reach area of the city, Kolkata Municipal Corporation has formed a seven-member enquiry committee to investigate the circumstances behind the tragedy in which 11 people were killed.
The Municipal Commissioner in an order dated March 22 said the enquiry committee will investigate the cause of the collapse of the under-construction building and its ambit will include the land status, the quality of materials and the immediate cause which triggered the tumbling down of the structure at Azhar Molla Bagan in the north-eastern part of the city.
The seven-member committee will be headed by the KMC joint municipal commissioner and will also have representatives of the Kolkata Police, the order said. A copy of the order was made available to PTI on Saturday.
The scope of work of the committee include - "land status to determine the ownership, nature, transfer conversions (if any) of the land, building plan, quality of materials used in comparison with technical specifications as per building code...,structural stability report," it said. The committee will also probe allegations of any involvement or negligence of officials and.....whether flats were disposed of prior to or during construction, it said.
The under-construction five-storey building collapsed early Monday claiming at least 11 lives and injuring 16 people. Mayor Firhad Hakim told reporters on Saturday that the committee has been asked "to submit its report in a week" to determine the factors behind the building collapse and take necessary corrective steps.
The building collapse triggered a political storm as the opposition BJP, Congress and CPI(M) accused the ruling TMC of doing little to stop illegal construction of high rises in the congested area apart from other parts of the city and its neighbourhood. While BJP had demanded the resignation of the Mayor for the loss of so many lives in the collapse of the building, state Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury demanded the arrest of Hakim accusing him of being indirectly responsible for the human casualties.
The TMC in response accused the opposition of doing politics over the deaths of people asserting Hakim and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had taken immediate steps after the mishap by arresting the builder and landowner.
