Mumbai: Residents of Laxmi Chhaya Cooperative Housing Society in Borivili, a portion of which collapsed on July 18 last year, killing 31 people and injuring 15, say they feel cheated.
The state government passed a Bill in the assembly on Monday, making it mandatory for close to 40,000 buildings over 30 years to carry out periodical structural audits.

For close to a year now, the assembly has been holding on to a report submitted by an expert panel, listing the exact cause of the collapse. The report was submitted on January 15. Three assembly sessions have been held since, but the report is yet to be made public.

"We lost family in the tragedy but it does not seem to matter to the state. We still don't know what led to the collapse," said Durgesh Kothari, who lost four relatives in the tragedy.

Two days after the incident, Borivili police booked Kailash Jain, a jeweller who owned commercial units on the ground floor, for making alterations in the beams and columns of the structure, claiming it to be the reason for the collapse. Jain has disputed the claim and is presently out on bail.

"Even before the report is tabled and investigations made public, the state has passed a Bill that seems to suggest that the collapse was triggered by inferior structural conditions," Kothari said.

The building has been taken up for redevelopment, which is expected to be complete in two years.
Source : Central