Families of Shahapur girder collapse victims receive compensation from CM’s relief fund

The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund has disbursed compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the families of 20 victims of the Shahapur girder launcher collapse on the Samruddhi Expressway, totaling ₹1 crore. The incident occurred in Sarlambe village, Shahapur taluka, Thane district

BHIWANDI: The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund has disbursed compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the families of 20 victims of the Shahapur girder launcher collapse on the Samruddhi Expressway, totaling ₹1 crore. The incident occurred in Sarlambe village, Shahapur taluka, Thane district, on July 31, claiming 20 lives and injuring three.

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The girder launcher, weighing 700 metric tonnes, collapsed from a 35-meter height onto a 28-member team from Chennai-based VSL India Ltd, engaged in preparatory work for the expressway. Among the deceased were 13 laborers, two engineers, and five employees of the contractor company. The deceased belonged to Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand.

After the family members transported the mortal remains to their respective states for the last rites, Shahapur tehsildar Komal Thakur and sub-divisional officer Amit Sanap, Bhiwandi, worked under Thane Collector Ashok Shingare’s guidance to expedite compensation disbursement to the victims’ families.

Thakur told HT on Thursday, “The compensation amount of ₹1 crore has been sanctioned by the CM’s Relief Fund. We received the amount on August 23 this year. We carried out the paperwork for disbursing the compensation to the workers and the employees of the company as fast as possible as per the norms.”

Officials explained that compensation norms required relatives to provide a legal heirship certificate from their respective states, along with beneficiary details. Seven families received compensation in November, while the remaining 13 were compensated earlier this month.

The Maharashtra government announced ₹500,000 in compensation, supplemented by an additional ₹200,000 from the Centre for the next of kin. An investigation, resulting in charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, is ongoing against two contractors at Shahapur police station. Ananta Parad, senior police inspector at Shahapur police station, stated, “We are investigating the matter, and no arrests have been made yet.”