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Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has suspended chief engineer and environment department head Sanjay Kulkarni and executive engineer Yogesh Alhat in connection with the 8th July Moshi landfill collapse that killed nine workers. Municipal Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi also ordered a departmental inquiry against both officials.
The civic body said the two officials have been charged with negligence of duty, dereliction in official work, misuse of authority and allegedly shielding unauthorised construction at the Moshi waste-to-energy project.
‘Unsatisfactory Explanations’
The action comes a day after the officials were issued show-cause notices and asked to submit their replies. According to the PCMC, the explanations submitted by Kulkarni and Alhat were found to be unsatisfactory and not in accordance with government and municipal rules.
The July 8 disaster occurred when a massive garbage mound collapsed onto a three-storey administrative building at the waste-to-energy project inside the Moshi garbage depot. Nine workers died, and several others were injured in the incident.
Show Cause Notice To Contract Company…
The civic administration had also issued a show-cause notice to Antony Lara Renewable Energy Company, the private operator of the project, alleging serious lapses in safety and supervision. The company submitted its explanation on Tuesday after being warned that its contract could be cancelled and its bank guarantee forfeited if it failed to respond.
Also, on Wednesday, a protest was held by the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) group on the PCMC building premises against Alhat and Kulkarni, where representative garbage was thrown on their photos.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by the Pune Divisional Commissioner to investigate the disaster. The committee has been directed to submit a preliminary report within one month and a final report within two months.
The committee will examine the immediate and root causes of the garbage slide. It will investigate technical, geotechnical, geographical, climatic and drainage factors that may have contributed to the collapse.
Investigation Underway…
It will also verify whether the height, slope and stability of the garbage mound met prescribed safety standards. The panel has been asked to examine whether solid waste management and environmental rules were violated.
The inquiry will also assess whether the location, design and structural stability of the administrative building complied with engineering norms. It will verify whether officials or contractors had received any prior complaints or warnings about land subsidence or garbage movement and whether preventive action was taken.
The committee has also been tasked with fixing responsibility on officials, employees, contractors, project management consultants and technical agencies. If technical lapses or rule violations are found, it will recommend disciplinary and criminal action.
The state government has authorised the committee to seek documents, agreements, maps, CCTV footage, drone survey data and other records from the civic body. It can also conduct site inspections, collect samples and record statements of officials and contractors as part of the investigation. All PCMC departments have been directed to cooperate with the inquiry.
