Eknath Shinde orders fire safety audits of all Slum Rehabilitation Authority buildings

Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, ordered officials to conduct fire audits of all Slum Rehabilitation Authority buildings in the wake of the devastating fire that broke out in a residential building in Goregaon, Mumbai, early on Friday. The fire resulted in seven fatalities and 62 injuries.

Seven people, including two minors, were killed and 62 injured, of which five are critical, in a fire in Jay Bhavani SRA building. Shinde visited the site of fire and also met some of the injured who have been admitted in Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari.

Speaking to reporters at the hospital, Shinde said a special officer will be appointed for the purpose of conducting fire safety audits of SRA buildings so that incidents like the one in Goregaon can be avoided.

Meanwhile,  Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the state's minister of tourism who also serves as the district's guardian minister for Mumbai, gave the go-ahead for the formation of a special committee to investigate the Goregaon fire. According to Lodha, the committee has a fortnight to submit its report.

After the area they are occupying is cleared for development by private parties, SRA buildings are built for slum inhabitants. The private organisations pay for the rehabilitation of these people and profit from their investment by building houses to be sold on the open market.