Need 6 weeks to light up Shakti Mills again: BEST to HC

Hold joint meet to cut red tape,court tells agencies

The best undertaking informed the Bombay High Court Thursday that it would require six weeks to reconnect the electric supply to the decrepit Shakti Mills compound in Mahalaxmi where a photojournalist was gang-raped on August 22.

The BEST officials told the court that at present the run-down mill premises have no electric supply from BEST and the process would entail an application for electric connection and a report of the electrical licensed contractor. The contractor will have be required for wiring,fitting as well as giving the BEST a list of electricity load required for the premises. They said that they will also need permission from BMC to lay a cable for electric supply.

To cut red tape and expedite the process of making the property safer,Justice N M Jamdar,however,asked the BEST,BMC,the state Public Works Department (PWD),Western Railway officials and the senior police inspector of the police station concerned to have a joint meeting with the office of the official liquidator,custodian of the mill property after it was wound up in 1981.

The court also asked the authorities to conduct a joint inspection of the property on September 19. Justice Jamdar said the authorities,after conducting the inspection,shall formulate a plan of action to make the premises safer. He asked the official liquidator to submit a report to the court by September 23.

The court observed that the liquidators report can be the basis for seeking further permissions to clean up and secure the derelict mill compound. This is to ensure that time is not lost in procedural compliances, said Justice Jamdar. Asking all the officers concerned to attend the meeting,the court said as multiple government agencies would have to be involved to improve the security on the premises,it would take a considerable amount of time for the premises to be secured. The idea is to have it sorted in one meeting, the court remarked.

Assistant official liquidator Rupa Sutar informed the court that private security guards had been posted at the mill compound. A total of nine guards have been deployed to protect the property with three guards working in each of the three shifts,Sutar said.

The court also asked the official liquidator to seek the permission of the garden department of the G/south ward to remove bushes,grass and trimming the trees in the mill compound. It also asked the liquidator to apply through a licensed architect,to BMCs executive engineer (buildings and proposals) for the demolition of dilapidated walls and putting up a barbed wire fence to protect the premises. The officials concerned have also been asked to attend the joint meeting on September 19.

mayura.janwalkar@expressindia.com

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