The civic authority has also said that no proposals were received for any structural changes to be carried out in the Mahim building and that only further investigations will reveal if any modifications were made
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is out with its initial report on Altaf Mansion, which collapsed on Monday night in Mahim. The report comes after visits by the BMC’s building proposal department and many follow-ups by the additional municipal commissioner (city).
Officers of the building proposal department were seen inspecting the site for almost half an hour to check whether structural changes were carried out in the basement as alleged by the residents
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The report concluded that stainless steel and cement used to construct the building was of degraded quality. Apart from this the civic body is setting up a fact-finding committee to look into the structural engineering and architecture of the building. It will be headed by the deputy municipal commissioner. Shashank Mehendale, an expert structural engineer who will be part of the committee, will help in the debris analysis to ascertain the quality of cement used. A report will follow the inspection.
The BMC has also stated that there was no complaint regarding irregularities or structural changes made in the building. The administration is firm on the point that no repair or redevelopment proposal was received. The BMC has stated that the building had all the required permissions for its construction given by the building proposal department (city) in 1985. Civic officials under the leadership of the deputy municipal commissioner and the structural engineer will submit a report to the BMC in the next three days, highlighting the possible reasons for the building’s collapse.
Officers of the building proposal department (city) were seen inspecting the basement for almost half an hour yesterday to check whether structural changes were carried out in the basement, locals claimed. The BMC will check if beams and pillars were moved to facilitate automobile movement in the showroom. The BMC said no complaints of modification post the issuance of the occupation certificate were received.
Officialspeak
Deputy chief engineer Sanjeev Anaokar said, “We will be submitting a report to the additional municipal commissioner in the next few days. As we have just carried out a primary inspection till now, we cannot say if structural changes were carried out.” In a press release the BMC administration has said the decision on the other wing of the society the building was a part of will be taken only after the report is out, and until then the other building will stand as it is.
Complaints in the past
The BMC had received a complaint on November 23, 2010 regarding sewerage issue at the building
The Mahim police station had received a complaint regarding an illegal hoarding on the terrace of Altaf Mansion on March 13, 2013
Another complaint was made about an illegal tent that had come up behind the building, on the society’s premises u00a0
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