Kirit Somaiya alleges Ghatkopar hoarding approved by MVA govt, demands SIT and ED probe

Blame game over Ghatkopar hoarding tragedy continues. Former BJP MP alleges MVA government involvement, demands probe. Rescue operation concludes with 16 dead, 41 injured.

MUMBAI: The political blame game over the Ghatkopar hoarding tragedy, which has claimed 16 lives so far, continues. Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya on Thursday alleged that the tender for the hoarding was floated during the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray, and demanded a probe by a Special Investigative Team (SIT) and the Enforcement Directorate. The Shiv Sena (UBT) riposted that since the land belonged to the railways, no state government had any role to play in awarding the contract, and added that Somaiya was “as usual” making baseless allegations with one eye on the Lok Sabha elections.

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On Thursday, disaster response forces concluded the rescue operation. According to officials, 16 people have died so far and 41 others have sustained serious injuries.

After the hoarding fell on Monday during the dust squall, the finger-pointing game began. Opposition leaders blamed the Mahayuti government, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday demanded the resignation of the railway minister, saying that the land under the hoarding was in use for railway police accommodation. In the melee, Somaiya also piped up, claiming that he had information on the Ghatkopar hoardings under the Right to Information (RTI). He claimed that he had been pursuing the matter for a long time.

In a press conference on Thursday, Somaiya claimed that the land belonged to the Maharashtra Police Housing Welfare Corporation, and the Maharashtra Railway Police commissioner was in control of the process related to the hoarding tenders. “I have RTI documents which show that the tender process for the hoarding and three others nearby was initiated during the MVA government,” he said. “The tendering process for the four sites was started in January 2021. Bhavesh Bhinde of Ego Media Private Ltd got all four.”

Somaiya shared a letter purportedly written by the then Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner Quaiser Khalid to Ego Media Pvt Ltd, which says, ‘After the process, your tender was approved for the land on lease for 10 years… You have requested by the letter dated April 23, 2022, to extend the tenure of lease for 30 years, as there will be big expenditure on Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC). As per that, the approval has been granted for the tenure of 30 years.’ (sic)

Although Khalid’s letter nowhere mentions the government, Somaiya alleged that Khalid granted the extension on the MVA government’s instructions, The BJP leader also wrote a letter to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, demanding a probe by an SIT, and asking that Khalid be sent on leave till the inquiry was completed.

‘The land, which is owned by the government of Maharashtra, which was transferred to the Maharashtra State Police Housing Welfare Corporation, around 40,000 square feet was used to develop BPCL petrol pump in non-transparent manner,’ Somaiya wrote in his letter to Fadnavis. ‘The petrol pump landed over Lord’s Mark Industries Pvt Ltd. A part of this petrol pump and adjacent land was given to Bhavesh Bhinde to put 4 hoardings each at 4 sites. Total revenue from the hoardings come to ₹100 crores. At the same time, state government through GRP and Director General of Maharashtra police allowed Lord’s Mark Industries Pvt Ltd. Lots of irregularities and illegality and non-transparency. I have obtained the documents through RTI from BMC, GRP… Revenue from hoarding and petrol pump comes to over ₹125 crores and Maharashtra government gets nothing except the around ₹2 crores to police welfare fund.’ (sic)

Somaiya also alleged that the BMC had issued a notice to Ego Media Pvt Ltd in 2021-22 about the size of the hoarding, which was way above the permitted height of 40 feet. He claimed that Khalid had told the BMC that since the land belonged to the railway ministry, these rules would not apply. “All the permissions by different authorities during the MVA tenure point to the fact that without the MVA government’s involvement, this was not possible,” he said. “All the evidence and file notings will come out in the probe.”

Shiv Sena legislator Anil Parab refuted the allegations and said they were politically motivated. “The land belongs to the railways, and the MVA government had no role in awarding the tender to anyone,” he said. “With one eye on the Lok Sabha elections, Somaiya has made this baseless allegation and is trying to mislead the people like he always does.”