Beam fall: Stakeholders in pass-the-buck mode

“MMRDA is a minor stakeholder. MMOPL is in charge of supervision and execution. It is clear safety measures have not been taken,” said Rahul Asthana,metropolitan commissioner.

MMRDA owns 26 per cent of the SPV,while Reliance Infrastructure,an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company,holds the majority 69 per cent stake in MMOPL. Veolia Transport holds the remaining 5 per cent.

Reliance Infrastructure issued a short statement on Tuesday expressing regret and specifying that its contractor Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) was in charge of Airport Road Metro Station where the accident happened. HCC declined comment,saying MMOPL had already issued a statement.

“Let them pass the buck. Inquiry will ultimately establish the facts,” said S V R Srinivas,additional metropolitan commissioner,MMRDA.

“We will put the findings before the MMOPL board,” Asthana said,adding that ultimately it would be MMOPL’s responsibility to take action.

While MMOPL will conduct its own inquiry,while MMRDA has appointed a committee of K V K Rao,a professor in the civil engineering department at IIT Mumbai,and S B Tamsekar,chief engineer at the public works department,to probe the accident and report within 15 days.

Metro work has been stopped for three days even as safety procedures are reviewed. The accident on Tuesday was the eighth on the 11.4-km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro line. The project has seen six deaths since construction started in February 2008.

Four labourers injured in Tuesday’s mishap are still critical.

Meanwhile,Sahar Police registered a case against the supervising engineer and the architect overseeing the construction.