Centre has approved ex-gratia in Bhiwandi building collapse case: MoS Patil

Centre has sanctioned ex gratia in case of a building collapse in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi last month that killed eight persons and left 10 others injured, said Kapil Patil, Union minister of state

The Centre has sanctioned ex gratia in the case of a building collapse in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi last month that killed eight persons and left 10 others injured, said Kapil Patil, Union minister of state on Monday.

Patil, who represents the Bhiwandi Lok Sabha constituency in Thane district, said in a release that the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund will pay Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured in the accident.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanctioning the ex gratia, the minister said the state government has already released relief for the dead and injured.

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each would be paid to the kin of the deceased, while medical expenses of the injured would be borne by the state government.

The BJP leader said the district collector has received a communication from the Centre that said that the ex gratia amount will be directly credited to the bank account of those eligible.

He also said that most of the buildings constructed in Bhiwandi taluka 15-20 years ago have become dilapidated and he has urged the state government to go for structural audits of these structures so that corrective action can be taken to avoid loss of lives.

Eight people died and 10 others were injured after a two-storey building at Wardhaman Compound in Bhiwandi's Walpada collapsed on April 29.

The building housed godowns on the ground and first floors and four families in tenements on the top floor.