The Hindu: Mumbai: Wednesday, June 14, 2017.
Data accessed
under the Right to Information Act (RTI) by public interest activist Anil
Galgali reveals that the January 29, 2016, letter according “urgent priority”
to the work meandered between postal divisions for months. Five letters on the
subject were issued and despatched from the PMG’s office in January, February,
August, September and November 2016.
INTACH is a
private trust that has the requisite expertise to handle heritage architecture
restoration. Divay Gupta, principal director at INTACH, told The Hindu, “It is
true that we were approached two years ago to take a look at the condition of
the GPO building. Our preliminary assessment was followed by our advisory to
cordon off areas of the building that were in a very bad state and faced
imminent collapse that could cause serious injuries. We had suggested this as
an immediate first measure that would entail no cost, but would ensure no loss
to life or limb occurred.”
Danger to
hundreds
Mr. Galgali
says that the PMG had directed urgent and immediate action as the heritage building
functions as the headquarters of the postal department and is visited by
hundreds of people, besides the 1,000-plus government staffers who work there.
The GPO chief
had also pointed out in his January 2016 instructions to the head of the State
buildings department that portions of the ceiling in different places had
collapsed, even injuring a woman, who had sued the postal department.
In response
to his RTI query, the postal department informed Mr. Galgali, “Civil suit
number 4735/2012 was lodged by a woman injured after a roof slab collapsed. The
case is sub-judice (and the process of) fixing of vicarious responsibility upon
the department (in currently ongoing over the incident).”
Sheer
negligence
Mr. Galgali
said the negligence of the postal department officials was glaring. “Consider
the fact that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-approved Mumbai Heritage
Committee declared four of the 633 heritage structures in Mumbai as ‘poorly
preserved buildings’, which included the GPO building. The GPO also got the
distinction of being the only government building amongst the four dilapidated
heritage structures; the three others, including the Watson Hotel building, are
private structures.”
The GPO’s
restoration and maintenance was expected to cost ₹47.58 crore in 2015, with an
expected cost escalation of 10 to 15% per annum.
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