Taking note of the "rising" number of incidents of lift crash and malfunctioning in SRA buildings, the chief electrical inspector of the Department of Energy, government of Maharashtra, has written to the CEO of Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to take measures to ensure lifts in SRA buildings get Annual Maintenance Contract.
Chief electrical inspector Dinesh Khonde stated that there is an urgent need for stringent safety standards regarding the design and construction of elevators/lifts in SRA buildings. Listing down rules that should be made mandatory for both old /existing buildings as well as those newly sanctioned ones, the chief electrical inspector also stated that these norms must be strictly enforced during sanctioning of the SRA scheme across the city.
The chief electrical Inspectorate wing of the energy department, of the government of Maharashtra, is an apex authority that took serious cognizance of lift mishaps and carried out post-accident enquiry and investigations of all these accidents with the help of the lift Inspectorate wing.
During these investigations, serious noncompliances were found. Also, this department conducted an annual inspection of a total of 333 lifts in old/existing SRA buildings till now, in Mumbai and Pune region.
"It is of great concern that incidents of lift crashes/malfunctioning has been on the rise in recent times. Most of them has turned into human fatal accidents and serious injuries thereby turning them into purely man-made disasters. The root cause analysis of all these accidents was found to lift operating in extremely unsafe conditions without proper annual maintenance contracts (AMC). The same violation was also discovered in most of the installed lifts in SRA buildings during the annual lift inspection by the department. As the performance of the lifts degrades over a period of time it becomes necessary to have regular preventive and emergency repairs through skilled lift technicians for safer operation of these lifts," Khonde stated in his letter to SRA CEO Satish Lokhande.
He added: "Henceforth, for the old/existing SRA buildings and society's annual maintenance contract with the licensed lift contractors shall be mandatory. It is also mandatory that all lift installations in newly proposed SRA buildings shall be of advanced version equipped with all latest safety features and automated elevator technologies."
Khonde's letter also specifies that the lift capacity should be made for at least eight persons (that is the minimum shaft size shall be W1800mm X D1800MM) instead of four or six persons considering increased lift handling capacity over a period of time.
"For buildings with a height of 24 metres and above, all relevant provisions related to firemen’s lift shall have to have complied. In case high-rise buildings trained lift operators shall be appointed. CCTVs shall be installed in lift car and will have to be in working condition all the time," added Khonde.
When contacted, SRA CEO Satish Lokhande was out of state on election duty. Deputy Chief Engineer R B Mitkar told the Free Press Journal that all these rules are already in place and having an AMC is mandatory for all buildings.
"The responsibility of this is with the developer for the first five years, later the developer has to sign an AMC before handing over the building to the registered society. Without having an AMC, the developer cannot hand it over to society. In case of non-compliance, we follow protocol and issue a show-cause notice followed by appropriate action."
Recent Lift accidents in SRA building:
28 November 2020- A 5-year-old boy Mohammad Sheikh was trapped in a moving lift and died in a cosy shelter building in the Palwadi area of Dharavi.
30 October 2021- 5 people were injured in an elevator crash at an SRA building named Gulmohar Terrace Society at Pratip Street near the new cafe Paradise in Byculla.
5 November 2021- A 7-year-old girl Diya Vinayagam fall into the lift shaft and died at Om Shiv Sai Society in Sion.
13 December 2021- 5 people suffered injuries as lift crashes from the 10th floor of an SRA building Named Mahakali darshan at Andheri East.
20 December 2021- An 11-year-old boy Atharva Sharma trapped and died in an under repair lift in a building named Kaveri Society located at Chincholi Road in Malad
