Moshi Garbage Tragedy: Distance Between Garbage Mound & PCMC Building Under Scanner

Pimpri-Chinchwad: One of the biggest questions after the Moshi tragedy is how close the administrative building was to the legacy waste mound.

PCMC officials initially maintained that the building was constructed around 30 metres away from the landfill, claiming it complied with the prescribed safety norms. However, satellite imagery and Google Earth measurements examined after the incident suggest the distance was only about 16 to 17 metres. The measurement is taken from the edge of the garbage mound to the office building before the collapse.

The discrepancy has raised fresh concerns over whether the buffer distance was adequate and whether the building was too close to a massive waste heap that had grown nearly 25-30 metres high. When asked about the difference, PCMC officials said they would comment only after the rescue operation and technical investigation were completed. However, at the time of writing this report, they had yet to comment on this very issue.

The issue has become central to the ongoing inquiry, which is also examining the building’s approvals and whether safety norms were followed during the planning of the waste-to-energy facility.

Additionally, there are emerging reports of a comparable mound collapse occurring one month and several days before the incident. PCMC officials have yet to provide a response regarding these claims. However, the victims' families and individuals present at the site have asserted that these events did transpire.