10 GDA officials under scanner for building collapse

GHAZIABAD: The district administration has asked the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to enumerate roles and responsibilities of 10 officials who are being probed as part of a magisterial inquiry into the Akash Nagar building collapse incident.
Two persons were killed and nine others injured when a five-storey unauthorised under-construction building had collapsed in Akash Nagar on July 22 last year.

The magisterial probe has been undertaken through additional district magistrate Sunil Kumar Singh. It had been ordered by district magistrate Ritu Maheshwari a few days after the incident. “All 10 GDA officials who are being probed belong to different posts starting from the level of executive engineer. Their statements have been recorded. They are field-level officers in the zone in which the unauthorised building was located. Their lapses that led to the tragedy can be fixed only after we get to know their proper work-related roles and responsibilities,” said Singh.

The building collapse incident led GDA to pursue a sealing drive and demolish old, illegal and decrepit buildings across the city.

“We traced the survivors to Madhya Pradesh with help from the special investigation team formed by Ghaziabad police to probe the incident. Not a single member of the general public met us or recorded their statement during the course of the probe. We will recommend departmental action against the 10 officials after GDA replies to our enquiries following which the probe will be closed,” said Singh.