The Indian Express          07.11.2013

BMC sends notices to a lakh buildings, but has only 16 consultants for structural audits

Even as the civic administration has sent over one lakh notices to buildings in the city, directing them to conduct a structural audit, it has only 16 consultants on board for the task.

In the aftermath of the collapse of Mazgaon's Babu Genu market building, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to conduct a systematic structural audit on all civic-owned buildings that are over 30 years and has also directed owners of all such private buildings to get a structural audit done.

BMC has 16 consultants as part of the panel, who conduct a technical audit and report on impending repairs. "The consultants are appointed to survey buildings that come under BMC, but a notice has been sent to about one lakh structures in the city, including private ones," said Praveen Chedha, a Congress corporator.

Chedha said budgetary provisions have already been made for auditing these privately-owned buildings.

"Why should there be a compulsion to get a structural audit from selected consultants only? With such a high need for such audits, more such companies should be brought in the list," added Chheda.

BJP group leader Dilip Patel says, "How can the BMC send notices to private buildings? It is not in our hands. If this continues, there will be a new business of structural auditing in Mumbai."

Patel said premier institutes such as Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) and IIT Bombay were not included in the list of consultants. Also there should be transparency in the system of audits, he added.

Corporators across party lines have now called for an audit system that will be followed by prompt attention to weak structures. "If the administration is to implement the audit, then it must come up with a system that will ensure that the audits are time-bound. To conduct structural audits on few thousand civic-owned buildings will not be feasible unless there is a strong mechanism in place," said BJP corporator Manoj Kotak.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said, "The systematic audit will be planned and implemented in two months. Corporators have demanded the administration to submit data on the number of buildings that will require the audit."

Congress corporator Asif Zakaria said though a structural audit on the collapsed Mazgaon building had been submitted by a private consultant in November 2012, the collapse took place. "There was no follow-up to the structural report. It could happen again if the BMC does not take strict action on buildings that require attention," said Zakaria.

Another Congress corporator, Sheetal Mhatre, gave the example of Tejpal building, where BMC consultants conducted an audit and the report said the building was dilapidated and old. "But when the residents of the same building got it audited by VJTI, the report didn't mention any repair work. We need to be clear on the basis of which the consultants are selected by the corporation. It cannot be based only on experience," she said.