Two more persons were arrested for the seven-storey building collapse
at Shilphata in Mumbra even as an army of demolition teams, eviction
squads and a panel of legal experts was readied for targeted action
against illegal construction. First on the radar are 57 illegally-built
multi-storey buildings.

“The architect of the illegal building
at Lucky Compound, Farukh Abdul Laif Chapra (59), and Mumbra journalist
Rafiq Daud Kamdar (44) have been picked up. We are searching for the
five partners of the two arrested builders, Jamil Shaikh and Abdul Salim
Siddiqui. Some more officials from the TMC could also be arrested
soon,” a senior police official told TOI.

The total arrests so
far in the Mumbra collapse has now gone up to 11, with police action
imminent on civic officials who are said to have been named by the
builders in a diary as beneficiaries of the cash paid at all levels.

Though the TMC drive was described as long delayed by many, officials
were focused. They said the operation will begin on Tuesday with a
crackdown on the 57 buildings constructed with utter contempt towards
development control rules. They are in a dilapidated state. Criminal
action against the builders and contractors involved seem imminent.

“In the first phase, we will pull down all 57 multi-storey buildings
which had been served eviction notices. The tenements continue to be
occupied, but not for long,” a civic official said.

A hi-tech
mechanized crusher has been rented by TMC to help pull down any building
up to 10 storeys within a few hours. “After the 57 buildings, we will
concentrate on the illegal structures in Shilphata and Mumbra. The water
and sewerage connections to all illegal buildings will be cut and our
teams will work with the police to get the occupants evicted and the
builder arrested,” the official said.

Municipal commissioner
RA Rajeev has appointed a dedicated team of engineers who have been
given one-step promotion to carry out their actions in a systematic
manner.

“While one team will pull down illegal structures, the
other will identify illegal or dilapidated buildings. The legal team of
nine lawyers will start procedures for eviction of residents,” said a
TMC spokesperson.