Dharwad building collapse: 7 Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation officials suspended

DHARWAD: The government on Saturday ordered the suspension of seven officials of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation ( HDMC ) for their alleged negligence and dereliction of duty which led to the crash of a four-storey under-constriction commercial complex on Tuesday in Kumareshwar Nagar of Dharwad.

Urban development minister U T Khader who visited the building crash site on Saturday announced that based on the preliminary report, he had ordered the suspension of seven officers with immediate effect.

Town planning officer Mukund Joshi, town planning cell assistant director Ashok Gadag, zonal officer Prabhakar Doddmani, executive engineer V Sridhar, assistant executive engineer Chandrappa, town planning cell deputy director B V Hiremath and assistant commissioner (zone-3) Santosh Anishettar are those suspended pending inquiry.

Khader reviewed the rescue operation and said that the government has taken the incident seriously and the regional commissioner has already ordered for a time-bound magisterial inquiry headed by the additional deputy commissioner. Prima facie, it appears that negligence by officials is one of the reasons for this disaster. After a detailed report, the government will initiate stern action against officials involved in certifying the building.

Khader said that officials across the state have been directed to inspect the stability of multi-storied buildings in their jurisdiction and take measures for the safety of the people. This apart, the government will effectively implement the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016.

Water resources minister D K Shivakumar who too visited the crash site on Saturday stated that the government will come up with new measures to avoid such disasters.

“This incident merits a detailed debate in the assembly and new acts should be framed to ensure safety of the people. Several multi-storied buildings are coming up in metropolitan and two- tier cities and the role of civic bodies is vital in certification. They cannot sit in AC rooms and grant certificates for buildings. They should be held accountable if such disasters occur,” he said.

The government will recommend introduction of issuing fitness certificate to multi-storied buildings. Under this, officials should regularly inspect buildings which are 50-years-old alongwith new buildings. Such a system is followed in the Regional Transport Office to check the fitness of vehicles.