Mumbai Hoarding Collapse: Railway Police Petrol Pump Revealed to be Illegal, Likely to Shut Down

Mumbai: The tragic collapse of the billboard on a petrol pump at Ghatkopar has claimed 16 lives. The 100 ft tall hoarding was illegally erected. On Wednesday, the Railway Police Department submitted a report of the entire series of incidents during and before the collapse to the Home Ministry and the DGP. It has also come to light that the Railway Police Petrol Pump was also built illegally. 

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The petrol pump did not have the required permission papers, including a no-objection certificate. Neither the Kurla Tehsildar nor the Land Record department has any records of the same. The petrol pump will likely be shut down as its illegal nature has come to light post-Ghatkopar tragedy. 

The petrol pump was built on the reserved land of the Ghatkopar Railway Police camp without any permission from the Home Department or Revenue Department. If the Home Department does not claim the land, it will have to be returned to the Revenue Department. The Kurla (Mulund) Office of Tehsildar had clarified in December 2021 that no record of NOC issued by the District Magistrate to the petrol pump was found. The pump belongs to Bharat Petroleum. In September 2022, the Land Record department provided a similar explanation to applicant Sandeep Kulte. It appears that the pump was functioning with the use of illegal and coercive power. 

Permission in January 2020
The petrol pump received permission in January 2020 from the prior permission of DGP, Maharashtra, Mumbai. An RTI revealed that the pump was being run by the Police Commissioner and the Mumbai Railway Welfare Fund organisation. 

Railway Police Removed from Duty 
A company called Lord Mark Industries Pvt Ltd was entrusted with the responsibility of managing the petrol pump. However, the then Highway Police Commissioner Kaiser Khalid had appointed railway police on duty at the pump. Since there was no written order for this, current police commissioner Ravindra Shisbe had stopped the police service. 

In a statement given to Loksatta, MLA Pravin Darekar has said that administrative officers who permitted the illegal petrol pump, such as officers of the BMCS, and revenue officers need to be arrested.  "The land of the railway camp was for the welfare of the police. The permission of the Home Department was vital for land acquisition. However, no action as taken since the administrative officers were in on the plan", Darekar said.