Mumbai: An excavator operator had warned about the soft soil conditions at the site in Ghatkopar where a 120 ft x 120 ft hoarding was planned, but the caution was disregarded. Sixteen months later, during a storm, the massive billboard collapsed, claiming 17 lives and injuring 74 others.
In its 3,299-page chargesheet submitted to a Mumbai court, the Special Investigation Team of Mumbai Crime Branch has highlighted alleged collusion involving senior officials from the Government Railway Police (GRP), Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and Ego Media Private Limited, setting the stage for the tragic incident on May 13.
According to the chargesheet, while an excavator was preparing the ground for the huge billboard, a tree fell, alerting the operator to the soft soil. He recommended a soil test to adjust the building plans for structural stability, a process that would have taken 15 days.
However, Ego Media directors Bhavesh Bhinde and former director Jahnavi Marathe proceeded without conducting the soil test, ignoring the warning, as per the chargesheet. The police suggest this negligence contributed to the illegal hoarding collapsing during adverse weather conditions. The excavator operator is among over 100 witnesses whose statements are part of the chargesheet.
The chargesheet also raises serious allegations against IPS officer Quaiser Khalid, the former GRP Commissioner during whose tenure the hoarding was approved, and BMC licence inspector Sunil Dalvi. The plot leased to the GRP allegedly saw Khalid circumvent tender procedures to award the hoarding contract to Ego Media, leading to his suspension. Dalvi initially issued a notice to Ego Media regarding the illegal hoarding but later withdrew it, raising concerns about his ongoing interactions with Bhinde.
The catastrophic collapse of the oversized hoarding, which was recognized in the Limca Book of Records, underscored the bending of rules and disregard for public safety in granting approvals for illegal billboards in Mumbai. While regulations stipulate a maximum size of 40 ft x 40 ft for hoardings, the Ghatkopar billboard exceeded this limit by three times.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the assembly that there are a total of 1,025 hoardings in BMC areas, none of which are illegal according to the government’s assessment. He clarified that hoardings on railway authority land do not require BMC permission. However, a BMC survey revealed that 99 out of 306 hoardings on railway authority land in Mumbai exceed the permitted size limit.
