Mumbai building collapse: Samajwadi Party holds MHADA, SBUT responsible, demands stringent action

Mumbai: As the toll in the Mumbai building collapse rose to 16, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday sought to put the blame on housing body MHADA and the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) that had undertaken the redevelopment of the over century old structure.The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and SBUT are responsible for the building crash, the Opposition party said, while demanding to file criminal cases against those responsible for the tragedy.[caption id="attachment_3994279" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of rescue operation underway at Bhendi Bazaar where 16 people were killed in a building collapse. PTI[/caption]"It is the MHADA and SBUT, which is responsible for the collapse. There should be an inquiry conducted by a sitting high court judge and criminal cases should be filed against officials of the two agencies and immediate arrests should be made," SP Corporator Rais Shaikh told reporters.Shaikh said SBUT should be made answerable as to why was there a delay in evacuating the residents when MHADA had already served them eviction notices.There are 16,000 cessed buildings and thousands of lives are at risk, the responsibility of which should be borne by MHADA, he said."I appeal to the chief minister to conduct a structural audit of all these 16,000 cessed buildings and make funds available for their redevelopment. Life has become cheap in this city," he said.The death toll mounted to 16, with four more casualties being reported in the afternoon.The deceased include 13 males and three females, a senior police official said.