Kamala Mills blaze: Activists feel Chief Fire Officer holds too much power

P S Rahangdale chief fire officerWhile BMC chief Ajoy Mehta was quick to release the inquiry report on the Kamala Mills blaze activists have attacked the very validity of the report They have pointed fingers not only at Mehta but also at the fire brigade chief P S Rahangdale both of whom have managed to escape all responsibility This is not because they are blameless say activists but because they hold a monopoly on all the powerActivists questioned how Rahangdale gave a sequence of events during the blaze though he was on leave at the timeAccording to activists it is no coincidence that BMC boss Ajoy Mehta escaped without blame since he is the one who led the inquiry The very act of the civic commissioner heading such a factfinding committee even when the CM had assured us of a judicial probe into the fire incident raises serious concern said Advocate Godfrey Pimenta of the Watchdog FoundationAlso read Kamala Mills fire 2 weeks on demolished eateries back and buzzingThe fire brigade pointed out several safety lapses at Kamala Mills leading to the fire on December 29 File picPimenta raised the same concerns about Chief Fire Officer CFO PS Rahangdale The second major issue in the report are the sections titled Investigation Report of Chief Fire Officer and Sequence of Events by CFO These narrate observations of eyewitnesses along with details of combustible materials at the site But how can the report mention an account from the CFO when he was on leave and wasnt even at the spot questioned PimentaThese sections do not state that the CFO was on leave and that in his absence his deputy officer conducted the probe which may have direct or indirect impact on the trial he addedToo much power for one manBut the problem goes far deeper that the Kamala Mills issue alone According to several activists the lapses start from the top down right from the top fire officer Rahangdale Pimenta pointed out that Rahangdale was not only the CFO of Mumbai but also held the additional charge of director of the Directorate of Maharashtra Fire Services DMFSThis is unheard of if the CFO holds the post of state fire director too then who will point out Mumbai fire brigades lapses in the Kamala Mills blaze asked Pimenta adding Moreover the director is an advisor to the state government and this post is senior to the CFOs post How can a CFO take a superior charge as director and be advisor to the government for the entire stateAccording to Pimenta if someone else had held the post of state fire director then he or she could have made an independent probe into the departmental lapses that were mentioned by many eyewitnesses in the Kamala Mills inferno However there is no reason why Rahangdale would conduct a probe against his men or himselfInterestingly the director is also the appellate authority in cases where an aggrieved party wishes to challenge an order by the CFO Only one such appeal is allowed in each case but if both posts are held by the same person it raises serious concerns about the misuse of power and miscarriage of justice The aggrieved party will be left with no option but to move court in such casesMiscarriage of justiceNitai Mehta founderdirector of Praja Foundation said It is absolutely absurd on the part of the civic chief to head the probe when his own office is in the wrong This is against the principal of natural justiceIt is a known fact that BMC staffers were not supposed to grant permissions without requisite checks and measures but instead they overlooked the norms so their palms would be greased The fire safety audit had it been conducted on the field rather than merely having it on paper would not only have averted the disaster at Kamala Mills but would have had larger preventive impact across the city and state Also the CFO holding two offices is bizarre and unheard of James John of AGNI shared similar views When the civic commissioner and other senior civic officials need to be questioned Ajoy Mehta cannot head the probe himselfAnd if the CM had directed Ajoy Mehta to carry out a probe as stated in the report then Mehta should have excused himself Merely taking action against 10 subordinates and making few recommendations to prevent future incidence only shows that Mehta was attempting to divert public attention from the core issuePimenta has decided to take up the matter of Rahangdales double posting before the Lokayukta on January 31 when there is to be a hearing on his other complaint about Mehta heading the Kamala Mills inquiryThe other sideManisha Mahiskar principal secretary Urban Development department II said In the past we had made an effort to appoint a full time director but only three to four applications were received We found that the CFO had the best firefighting experience so we offered him the post He was not interested in the post so we offered him additional charge as director This still does not explain why Rahangdale has held the post for the last three years Mahiskar added The government is keen to have a fulltime director and are in the process of looking for suitable experienced fire officers The post will be filled soonPrabhat S Rahangdale chief fire officer said Whatever responsibility was given to me as a CFO Mumbai and additional charge as director DMFS I have done my job with utmost honesty and sincerity I do not wish to make any other statement Numerous attempts to contact BMC chief Ajoy Mehta did not yield any resultExpert speakCriminal Lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said The report submitted by the civic chief on Kamala Mills has evidentiary value in the criminal proceedings during the trial Lapses in the report may benefit the accused and can even derail the prosecutions case10No of BMC staffers facing inquiry05No of BMC staffers suspendedCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on 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