HC reopens plea on safety lapses at construction sites post Bhiwandi mishap

The Bombay High Court has reopened a 2024 plea on safety lapses at high-rise construction sites in light of an accident earlier this week in which an iron rod from an under-construction metro rail site fell on a moving autorickshaw in Bhiwandi, injuring a man.

On August 5, an iron rod from an under-construction metro rail site in Bhiwandi in neighbouring Thane district fell on a moving autorickshaw and pierced a 20-year-old passenger's head. 

 

Expressing anguish over repeated safety breaches, a bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor noted that although a committee was formed in 2023, its recommendations had not been circulated to all planning authorities.

In 2023, the high court had taken up a suo motu plea after two bystanders were killed when a cement block fell on them from the 52nd floor of an under-construction building in Worli.

The HC had directed the formation of a committee to recommend safety measures. 

 

Quoting its 2023 order, the court on Thursday said it had "expressed a hope that none of the high-rise constructions in the city of Mumbai should make people vulnerable and prone to such accidents in which innocent people would get hurt or lose their lives".

It further held that exposing people to such dangers in public areas amounted to a violation of their fundamental right to livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The court on Thursday was informed that the committee had submitted its report. The bench then questioned if its recommendations were being implemented at construction sites that pose risks to the public. 

 

"Such concern of the court as on date is resurrected in view of the recent incident, in which an iron rod fell from the bridge under construction, and pierced the head of an autorickshaw passenger," the bench said.

The court directed the BMC to place on record the expert committee's safety guidelines, so that the state government can forward them for implementation to all municipal and planning authorities.

"These measures are in the larger public interest and therefore, expeditious action in this regard is required to be taken," the bench stressed, posting the matter for hearing on August 12.