Goa building collapse: Probe panel to submit report next month

Panaji, June 10: The inquiry commission set up to probe the

building collapse in which 30 people were killed earlier this year will submit its report to the state

by next month.

Ruby Residency, a five-storey under-construction building, located at Canacona had collapsed on January 14 this year. The Manohar Parrikar-led government had formed the Jha inquiry commission to probe the collapse and suggest remedies to avoid recurrence of such mishaps.

"The inquiry is in progress and we will submit the final report by mid-next month," V K Jha (a retired bureaucrat), heading the inquiry panel, said. He refused to divulge further details of the inquiry.

State sports minister Ramesh Tavadkar, who lives in one of the buildings near the collapsed structure, was quizzed last week in connection with the incident. The commission will be submitting its report to the state Legislative Assembly which will adopt it during the forthcoming monsoon session starting from July 22.

A senior government official said that the inquiry has been independent of the police investigation conducted in the collapse case. "The inquiry commission will go through the documents and use its own wisdom to fix the individual and constitutional responsibility of this incident," he said.

Following the police inquiry, two chief officers formerly attached to Canacona municipal council along with a municipal engineer were arrested after it was revealed that the weak structure was given occupancy certificate, weeks before it crumbled.

PTI