Only 7% unsafe bldgs conducted audit: CM

Nagpur:Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Tuesday in the House that out of the six thousand buildings identified for structural audits in Mumbai only 415 had complied with the order.      The BMC had found around 39,534 buildings that were built more than 30 years ago. Of these buildings around 6,242 buildings have been issued notices asking them to conduct structural audits," said Chavan.      In a written reply, Chavan stated that the developers of nearly 421 housing projects approved under the slum rehabilitation scheme had been issued notices for not starting the work within the deadline. "In many cases, it has been found that the work had not been started despite the scheme getting approval for construction, overall development plan and land ownership. It has been found that developers are involved in more than one SRA scheme and indulge in irregularities," Chavan mentioned in his reply. According to him several Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) schemes in the eastern and western suburbs were stuck due to disputes over land reservation and other issues. To another query, CM denied that the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority had suffered losses in its Goregaon redevelopment project although an audit revealed a Rs 260-crore loss. —Chittaranjan Tembhekar Mazgaon collapse: 'BMC officials sounded alarm'C hief Minister Prithviraj Chavan revealed that BMC staffers had underlined the need for major structural repairs for a Mazgaon building that collapsed in September and killed 61 people. The recommendation was forwarded to theBMC's planning department and endorsed by the consultants. TNN