Pune/Nagpur: Answering the building elevators safety issue in Pune District raised by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Chinchwad MLA Shankar Jagtap, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that inspections for elevator safety are ongoing. The question was raised referencing the 2nd October fatal incident in Chovisawadi, where a 12-year-old boy identified as Ameya Phadtare died after he got stuck in the elevator in his housing society while he was playing.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis answered that the state government took a serious note of that issue and has determined that there are a total of 61,521 elevators across residential and commercial buildings in the Pune District. Until the end of November, inspections of 5,694 elevators have been completed, said CM Fadnavis.
Referencing the October mishap in Chovisawadi under the Bhosari Assembly Constituency, MLA Shankar Jagtap had said that the accident occurred because the elevators in housing societies and commercial establishments in the city were not regularly inspected according to the guidelines of the Maharashtra Industry, Energy, Mining, and Labour Department.
MLA Shankar Jagtap’s Questions:
1) Has a safety audit been conducted for the elevators in all housing societies in the city?
2) Have substandard and uncertified elevators been shut down?
3) Has the government conducted an inquiry regarding this?
4) In this context, have substandard elevators in housing societies in the city been shut down?
5) What penal action has been taken or is being taken against the builders, developers, and society managements who failed to comply with the rules?
6) In light of this incident, what action is being taken regarding the safety audit of elevators in all housing societies and commercial establishments in the city?
CM Fadnavis’s Response
In the written reply that CM Fadnavis gave at Monday’s winter session in Nagpur, he said that after the 12-year-old boy died in the elevator accident at the housing society in Chovisawadi, an inquiry has been conducted into the matter. The elevator was shut down after the accident. Necessary defects were repaired. After the defects were rectified, the electrical inspector was informed to start the elevator after obtaining written permission.
Fadnavis further said, “Elevators are regularly inspected. There are 61,521 elevators in the Pune district. Out of these, the inspection of 5,694 elevators was completed in the five months from July to November 2025. The work of completing the inspection of the remaining 55,827 elevators is in progress.”
Chief Minister Fadnavis stated that previously, two electrical inspectors and 69 other technical posts were sanctioned for elevator work. To ensure the availability of additional manpower for the annual inspection of a greater number of elevators, the government decentralised the work related to elevators at the district level on 29th April 2025. This has resulted in a total of 519 posts being made available.
CM assured that in the future, it will be ensured that elevators in the buildings are in proper condition to avoid mishaps and deaths due to them.
