MUMBAI: On an afternoon BMC issued showcause notices to the contractor who repaired the CSMT foot overbridge in 2013 and the auditor who qualified it was once in "good condition" in 2018, civic leader Ajoy Mehta admitted to lack of "due diligence" at the a part of municipal officials.
Terming the work of auditors, Prof D D Desai's Associates Engineering Consultants, as "casual," Mehta pointed to lack of supervision of both the audit and service works. With the initial file into Thursday's Himalaya bridge crash that killed six clearly underlining the lackadaisical way of officials, a detailed inquiry will now look into how they messed it all up. The probe file can be out in a month. The initial file has pinned blame on two civic engineers and two retired officials.
"We had asked for an audit and there was a private auditor doing it, but did you (BMC engineers) exercise some checks and go with the auditor to the bridge?" Mehta requested.
IdealNews has discovered that repair works performed at the bridge, in 2013 and 2016, had been cosmetic despite BMC's claims that they had been "major."
Can flip from right here
The BMC's early file said "substantial repairs" had been executed in 2013. But these had been performed at a paltry cost of Rs8 lakh and had been handiest painting and plaster works.
According to the civic file, 1.43 tonnes of structural steel had been added to the FOB, however the steel was once used only for the staircase's railing, a supply mentioned. A supply associated with the works mentioned on situation of anonymity: "What kind of significant repairs can one expect with Rs8 lakh? Almost Rs4.5 lakh was spent on painting of the bridge, while Rs2.5 lakh was spent on plaster work. Whatever remained was used to put steel railings on the staircase."
The 2016 maintenance, for which Rs16 lakh had been spent, had been once more nominal-like painting-to best friend the bridge's look with the heritage environment, the supply added. This work was once performed after the UNESCO-nominated CSMT development, a Grade 1 heritage structure, figured at the checklist of 10 iconic places in India underneath the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Thus, for three decades after its building, the bridge had no longer passed through any primary maintenance to its core structure. And the auditor didn't see the desire for any, too.
"As an auditor, he claimed to be qualified and was being paid to do the job. Despite this, he suggested only minor repairs and the bridge crashed," Mehta mentioned.
In the awareness issued to the contractor RPS Infrastructure on Saturday, the chief engineer (bridges) has mentioned the initial investigation discovered that within the maintenance performed in 2013, the "workmanship was not up to the mark, which resulted in the collapse within six years." R P S Infrastructure was once later blacklisted within the road rip-off that emerged in 2016-2017. In the awareness the BMC has demanded to grasp from the company why its existing blacklisting length will have to no longer be enhanced for some other seven years and why the company will have to no longer get well the loss it has suffered from it. However, it's learnt that the defect legal responsibility length of the works was once handiest 5 years.
The understand to DD Desai states that "structural audit works carried out by you shall be again audited through other structural audit company at your risk and cost."
The BMC has additionally began sending out intimation to structural auditors who had audited bridges, FOBs and ROBs within the eastern and western suburbs and ready an inventory of such bridges to start a re-audit. "You are directed to re-inspect all sites, review the structural audit reports within one month and submit the same with detailed investigation and recommendations, if any," the observe despatched to the auditors said.
Terming the work of auditors, Prof D D Desai's Associates Engineering Consultants, as "casual," Mehta pointed to lack of supervision of both the audit and service works. With the initial file into Thursday's Himalaya bridge crash that killed six clearly underlining the lackadaisical way of officials, a detailed inquiry will now look into how they messed it all up. The probe file can be out in a month. The initial file has pinned blame on two civic engineers and two retired officials.
"We had asked for an audit and there was a private auditor doing it, but did you (BMC engineers) exercise some checks and go with the auditor to the bridge?" Mehta requested.
IdealNews has discovered that repair works performed at the bridge, in 2013 and 2016, had been cosmetic despite BMC's claims that they had been "major."
Can flip from right here
The BMC's early file said "substantial repairs" had been executed in 2013. But these had been performed at a paltry cost of Rs8 lakh and had been handiest painting and plaster works.
According to the civic file, 1.43 tonnes of structural steel had been added to the FOB, however the steel was once used only for the staircase's railing, a supply mentioned. A supply associated with the works mentioned on situation of anonymity: "What kind of significant repairs can one expect with Rs8 lakh? Almost Rs4.5 lakh was spent on painting of the bridge, while Rs2.5 lakh was spent on plaster work. Whatever remained was used to put steel railings on the staircase."
The 2016 maintenance, for which Rs16 lakh had been spent, had been once more nominal-like painting-to best friend the bridge's look with the heritage environment, the supply added. This work was once performed after the UNESCO-nominated CSMT development, a Grade 1 heritage structure, figured at the checklist of 10 iconic places in India underneath the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Thus, for three decades after its building, the bridge had no longer passed through any primary maintenance to its core structure. And the auditor didn't see the desire for any, too.
"As an auditor, he claimed to be qualified and was being paid to do the job. Despite this, he suggested only minor repairs and the bridge crashed," Mehta mentioned.
In the awareness issued to the contractor RPS Infrastructure on Saturday, the chief engineer (bridges) has mentioned the initial investigation discovered that within the maintenance performed in 2013, the "workmanship was not up to the mark, which resulted in the collapse within six years." R P S Infrastructure was once later blacklisted within the road rip-off that emerged in 2016-2017. In the awareness the BMC has demanded to grasp from the company why its existing blacklisting length will have to no longer be enhanced for some other seven years and why the company will have to no longer get well the loss it has suffered from it. However, it's learnt that the defect legal responsibility length of the works was once handiest 5 years.
The understand to DD Desai states that "structural audit works carried out by you shall be again audited through other structural audit company at your risk and cost."
The BMC has additionally began sending out intimation to structural auditors who had audited bridges, FOBs and ROBs within the eastern and western suburbs and ready an inventory of such bridges to start a re-audit. "You are directed to re-inspect all sites, review the structural audit reports within one month and submit the same with detailed investigation and recommendations, if any," the observe despatched to the auditors said.
Bridge collapse: BMC admits lack of diligence
![Bridge collapse: BMC admits lack of diligence]()
Reviewed by Kailash
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March 17, 2019
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