Mumbai: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday has taken a suo motu cognizance of the Virar building collapse in which 17 were killed and 9 were injured. They have issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the DGP, Maharashtra, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. The NHRC statement also mentioned that, “Reportedly, the building was unauthorised and constructed more than a decade back. However, the residents were paying taxes to the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), believing that the building was authorised as per the notarised documents”. Last week, one side (around 12 flats) of an unauthorised ground plus four building had collapsed around midnight trapping around 24 occupants of that building under the rubble. An adjacent 8-room chawl had to be demolished for the heavy machinery to make way to the crash site so that the search and rescue operation could be conducted. As these buildings were illegal, there was no space between them but a small lane and hence another adjacent ground plus four structures also had to be vacated to avoid any further mishap. After the 38 hour rescue operations were over, which involved the NDRF and local agencies, the entire building was demolished.
