Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ajoy Mehta has asked his deputies to submit, within 15 days, the names of officials who allowed illegal constructions, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. Mehta on Tuesday visited the site of the fire at a building in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel locality in which 14 people lost their lives.
“I have asked all deputy municipal commissioners to not only name officers, but also professional complainants who have been hand-in-glove with our people to get these illegalities approved,” Mehta told the Hindustan Times. “The report will be made on a case-by-case basis.”
The municipal commissioner said the corporation would make public the name of those who had complained against illegal structures at restaurants in the city. This would help find out the complaints that were made by people who try to make money by repeatedly complaining against an establishment, the daily quoted an unidentified official as saying.
Mehta on Monday had said that he would investigate more than 100 officers and engineers of the municipal corporation for allegedly allowing illegal modifications in bars, pubs and restaurants in their jurisdictions. “We will put a system in place to fix accountability of each officer,” he had said. “We will also probe the roles of officers and engineers who are working at ward-levels in the same capacity for years and allowed errant structures to flourish.”
The municipal corporation on Sunday sealed 30 restaurants in the city’s 24 wards, a day after demolishing illegal structures at 314 eateries and sealing seven of them.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!