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Madhya Pradesh fire: 12k govt files burnt, political row erupts
While the Congress alleged “corruption” and “foul play” in the massive fire, the BJP rejected the allegations and ordered a high-level committee to probe into the incident
A major fire in Madhya Pradesh government’s Satpura Bhawan in Bhopal that houses important departments such as health, transport and tribal affairs on Monday, turned into a political tussle between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress on Tuesday.
While the Congress alleged “corruption” and “foul play” in the massive fire that engulfed around 12,000 government files, the BJP rejected the allegations and ordered a high-level committee to probe into the incident.
According to government officials, among the 12,000 files burnt were those related to cases pertaining to irregularities in expenditure during Covid-19 period and funding of various agencies.
“The files of record room, coordination wing, dispensary, complaint wing, family planning, nursing, finance, pension, CM monitoring, public complaint and blood transfusion wing have been affected the most,” a senior government official said, requesting anonymity.
Files related to 62 complaints against the health department pending with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and the Lokayukta were also gutted, the official said, adding that inquiries were at different stages in these cases.
Last year, the state government purchased equipment for radiology, pathology and other departments for ₹434 crore. Several complaints were lodged in various districts about quality of the equipment. Officials said that files related to inquiries into these complaints were burnt.
“Files related complaints regarding transfer of nursing staff were also kept in the record room,” a senior officer of health department said.
Health department commissioner Sudam Khade, however, said, “The procurement of machines was done by the corporation so the data related to purchase is intact. The records of complaints against doctors, services and quality was there in the building.”
Officials from the EOW and Lokayukta refused to comment on the files lost, saying they have not received any communication from the health department in this regard.
On Tuesday, former chief minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath alleged that the fire incident was an example of “corruption”.
“The fire at Satpura Bhawan is a matter of grave concern. As of now, state government has informed that 12000 files have been destroyed but this should be probed by an independent agency whether it was an accident or conspiracy,” Nath said in a tweet in Hindi. “There is a massive corruption involved in it.”
Meanwhile, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a review meeting at his residence. “The CM has constituted a high-level committee for the investigation,” state’s health minister Prabhuram Chaudhary said after the meeting.
Chaudhary refuted the allegations of conspiracy, saying, “There were no such important documents in the offices. Congress’s allegations are baseless. More than 4,000 employees used to work, why would someone do such a conspiracy.”
Additional chief secretary, home, Rajesh Rajoura, who is part of the high-level inquiry committee constituted on the instructions of the chief minister, said, “We have visited the site. A committee of three experts – electrical safety, ANM wing and forensic team is investigating. We will visit again tomorrow [Wednesday] and submit the report in three days.”
Congress leaders also raised the question on why the administration did not use the hydraulic fire ladder purchased by the state government for ₹5.5 crore to douse ablaze in high-rise buildings. The hydraulic ladder was available just 50 metres from the Satpura Bhawan, they added.
Home minister Narottam Mishra, however, said, “There was no space to use the hydraulic ladder.”
The fire started in the third floor of the government building and later reached till sixth floor. The army along with 50 fire tenders of Airport Authority, BPCL, IOCL, BHEL and municipal corporation doused the fire in 20 hours, said Harinarayan Chari Mishra, commissioner of police, Bhopal.
A fire safety officer, requesting anonymity, said that fire extinguishers installed in the building could not be activated. “The water distribution network has been laid in Satpura building under the fire safety system, but due to lack of pipe water could not be used to extinguish the fire in the six-storey building that is 80-feet high,” the fire safety officer said.
