The standing committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has questioned 29 malls in the city that remain open for the public even after the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) had sent them notices over non-compliance of fire safety norms. During the discussions on the matter, the standing committee is also said to have raised some concerns pertaining to corruption within the MFB.
The civic body’s standing committee has now said that all malls that received the MFB notice should be closed for the period specified by the fire brigade in order to make sure the norms are adhered to. The committee also said that if a fire-related incident takes place during this time, the MFB officer that signed off on the notice should be charged for culpable homicide under section 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code.
Read - Mumbai City Centre Mall Fire Doused After 56 Hours
Mumbai’s City Centre mall was engulfed in a massive fire on October 22 which took the Mumbai Fire Brigade up to 56 hours to extinguish. This incident was deemed a brigade call which is the highest level of fire as per the fire brigade’s standard operating procedures (SOPs). Following the incident, the BMC’s standing committee had discussed irregularities within the mall.
The civic body revealed that the BMC-approved plan for City Centre mall only showed 344 shops whereas the fire brigade’s report after the incident had managed to identify 1,344 shops.
Shortly after, the MFB sent notices to 29 malls with the full list submitted to the BMC standing committee on Wednesday. Commenting on the matter, leader of the opposition, Ravi Raja (Congress) said - “If a notice has been served to a mall, it means the mall is fire non-compliant. During this time, the fire brigade should ensure the mall remains closed to public.”
Also read - City Centre Mall's Upper Portion Is Badly Damaged: BMC
Elaborating on the alleged corruption within the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Byculla corporator and Chairman of the civic body’s standing committee, Yashwant Jadhav said, “On Tuesday midnight, I received a call from tenants of a private building in my area that MFB, the Mumbai Police and BEST employees were forcefully vacating the building citing non-compliance to fire safety norms and that the building was dilapidated. When I asked for papers, it turned out that these reasons were not true.”
“BMC machinery is being used to suit the whims of private builders who want the building to be vacated. I have directed the fire brigade to inquire against the officer present during this incident and submit a report in two days,” Jadhav added.
Read - BMC Denies Permission To Reopen City Centre Mall Until Illegal Constructions Are Demolished
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