Developer had ‘no permit’ to deploy motor boats at Harni lake: Documents

Laying down conditions and specifications, including mandatory “life-guard’s jetty for surveillance and security”, for the execution of the project, the MoU states, “It is agreed by the developer to develop the Harni Motnath lake on PPP mode for controlled entry and exit points, appropriate parking areas for two and four-wheelers, construction of boundary walls, fencing of adjacent plots and pathways as part of the development of the lake, jetty for the purpose of pedal-boating and life-guard’s jetty for surveillance and security… children play area and interaction zone for senior citizens as well as security arrangements of the premises and the users”.

However, on January 18, about 34 persons, including students and teachers of New Sunrise School boarded one of the 14-seater motorised boats that were deployed by the contractor at the lake and operated by a boatman who had no pre-requisite qualification to run a motorised boat, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Vadodara police has said.

Key accused arrested

Meanwhile, the SIT Tuesday arrested M/s Kotia Projects owner Binit Kotia — the prime accused in the case — for culpable homicide and negligence. He was nabbed from his shop in Vadodara. “The SIT teams had fanned out in different parts of the country where Binit Kotia had been in hiding… He knew he was being trailed so he returned to Vadodara and we took him into custody from his shop on Tuesday. We have begun questioning him and we will soon have the other accused in custody, too… We have learnt that Binit Kotia has 5 per cent share in the partnership (in M/s Kotia Projects), while his deceased father Hitesh had 15 per cent share, which makes it a total 20 per cent with the Kotia family,” Zone 4 DCP Panna Momaya said.

The SIT has also stated that the developer had allegedly sub-let the boating contract to co-accused Nilesh Jain’s Dolphin Entertainment. Jain had allegedly hired non-swimmers to “be assistants” to the boatman.

The MoU states that it was VMC’s Futuristic Planning Cell that had “accepted the proposal of the developer and communicated its acceptance to the developer, vide a letter dated August 23, 2016, after the same was approved by the standing committee of the VMC vide its resolution number 296 dated September 8, 2016 and by the general board resolution no 110 of September 12, 2016.”

It was on the “receipt of the VMC’s offer by the developer for the execution of the work… based on the tender specifications that the VMC and the developer agreed to enter into an agreement on the terms and conditions and covenants mentioned in the tender”. The covenants of the agreement also mandated that the developer “ensures that sufficiently competent and qualified personnel shall always be on hand at the work site.”

At the same time, when The Indian Express on Tuesday contacted VMC’s Futuristic Planning Cell Executive Engineer Rajesh Chauhan, who is also currently the complainant in the FIR lodged against M/s Kotia Projects at Harni police station, he said the onus of inspection of the facility was with the zone office.

“I was not in-charge of the Futuristic Planning Cell when the MoU was signed. Since I took charge, the facility was under the respective zone office and not under the Futuristic Planning Cell. The onus of inspection was with the zone office… The Futuristic Planning Cell had communicated the same to the Zone office way back in 2019 by an official communication,” said Chauhan.

Although Chauhan did not share a copy of the said 2019 communication, the Executive Engineer of North Zone, Dharmik Dave, under which the Lake Zone now falls, told The Indian Express that his office had “received no intimation or files of the project”. “After the tragedy, I had all our records and files checked in the zone office. There has been no communication from the Futuristic Planning Cell or any other VMC department to us that the Lake Zone has to be inspected by the zone Office,” he said, adding, “The Lake Zone came under North Zone after the amalgamation of administrative and election wards was undertaken from April 1, 2022… If the Futuristic Planning Cell has indeed communicated to the Zone office that the inspection was our duty, they should show us a copy of the same communication. I have also given this reply in writing to the inquiry set up in the VMC into the incident.”

Even as the VMC departments continue to pass the buck, SIT officers said the police have written to the civic body demanding copies of the original boating licences submitted by the contractor as well as details of its inspections carried out at the Lake Zone over the years.

“While the VMC has submitted a copy of the MoU, it is yet to provide other documents that will help us navigate through the technicalities of the contract… If any negligence is found on part of the VMC, the officials concerned will be booked. It is a fact that the boats deployed at the Lake Zone were motorised, including the one on which the children were made to sit. The operator did not have the requisite qualification,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Yuvrajsinh Jadeja, who is a supervising officer of the SIT.

According to Momaya, the SIT was awaiting a detailed report from the forensic science laboratory, which has conducted a detailed examination of the assets created in the Lake Zone.

10-year-old victim’s father moves Supreme Court

Meanwhile, Kalpesh Nizama, who lost his 10-year-old son, Vishwa, in the tragedy, moved a writ petition in the Supreme Court Tuesday through advocate Utkarsh Dave demanding setting up of an independent investigation body under the supervision of the court. He has also demanded action against the VMC officials and the District Collector, and the principal and trustees of New Sunrise School for “negligence in exercising their responsibilities”.

“The PIL clearly demands action against the VMC and the school authorities because although the school is silent right now, it was the custodian of the children who were taken for a picnic to the site. The principal is the charted person and answerable… The question is whether the school overlooked important aspects that compromised the safety of the children and the teachers, who by law were the guardians of the students in the absence of their parents, ought to have acted responsibly,” Dave, who also represents the Morbi Tragedy Victim Association, said.

“The PIL also demands a reasonable amount of compensation increase for all victims as well as an investigation by an agency under the supervision of the high court or SC. The VMC, which had been napping or purposely overlooking the violations of the contract with the developer, needs to be in the dock for the same and cannot escape by passing on the blame to the contractor,” he added.