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Sohana building collapse: Building inspector suspended for dereliction of duty

By, Mohali
Feb 05, 2025 09:36 AM IST

The building inspector, Amarpreet Singh, who was on probation in the building branch, was issued suspension orders on January 31 for “dereliction of duty”.

Over a month after a building collapsed in Sohana, claiming two lives, the Punjab local bodies department suspended a building inspector for failing to act against illegal structures in his area even after the tragedy.

The Sohana police have already arrested the two building owners and contractor under whose care excavation work was going on when the tragedy struck. (HT File)
The Sohana police have already arrested the two building owners and contractor under whose care excavation work was going on when the tragedy struck. (HT File)

The building inspector, Amarpreet Singh, who was on probation in the building branch, was issued suspension orders on January 31 for “dereliction of duty”.

A senior MC official said, “Singh was not suspended in the Sohana building collapse case, in which the probe is still pending. He was found guilty of dereliction of duty as he did not act against illegal structures in his area even after the building collapsed. A show-cause notice was issued to him. Finding his reply unsatisfactory, his suspension was recommended.”

Meanwhile, after receiving his suspension order, Singh, who was posted as draftsman and given the additional charge of building inspector, sent his resignation to the MC through a registered post.

“We cannot approve his resignation and thus the same has been sent to the local bodies department for consideration. We are yet to receive any communique from the department regarding his resignation,” another MC official stated.

A probe, launched by MC commissioner T Benith, is already underway to identify other building inspectors who allowed illegal constructions to take place in the city in the last four years.

The administration’s preliminary investigation into the Sohana building collapse, which claimed two young lives, has revealed that the structure was built without an approved building plan.

Additionally, the building’s owners did not obtain drawings for the adjacent plot, where they were illegally digging a basement, causing the land to sink and bring down the four-storey building, according to the probe.

The Sohana police have already arrested the two building owners and contractor under whose care excavation work was going on when the tragedy struck.

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