Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Wednesday suspended chief engineer of the environment department Sanjay Kulkarni and executive engineer Yogesh Alhat for alleged negligence in the July 8 Moshi waste-to-energy plant tragedy that claimed nine lives.Municipal commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi ordered a departmental inquiry against the two after rejecting their replies to the show-cause notices issued on Monday. He termed their explanations “unsatisfactory, illogical and not in accordance with municipal rules” in the suspension order.The order alleged that the two officers failed to act against the illegal construction and violations of environmental norms at the Moshi waste depot, amounting to negligence that contributed to the tragedy.The commissioner said the waste-to-energy (WTE) plant operator was responsible for ensuring safety measures at the site, but the chief engineer and executive engineer were responsible for supervision.Kulkarni, in his reply, claimed that the department inspected the garbage mound and alerted the company about potential safety concerns. However, the civic administration found the explanation inadequate, Suryawanshi said.On whether criminal action would also be initiated against the suspended officers, he said the police were already investigating the case based on the FIR registered against two officials of Antony Lara Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd, the subsidiary of Antoty Waste Handling Cell Ltd, the company operating the WTE plant. “If the police find the officials at fault during the investigation, appropriate legal action can be taken,” he said.The Pimpri Chinchwad police registered an FIR against the waste-to-energy plant’s project head and safety officer on charges of culpable homicide. The project head was arrested and remanded in police custody, but the safety officer is yet to be taken into custody. He is in hospital with injuries sustained in the July 8 tragedy.Additional charge of the environment department is with Pramod Ombhase who will scrutinise the department’s past decisions, including whether due procedure was followed while awarding biomining works.The garbage mound that collapsed was scheduled to be taken up for biomining in the second phase, and the civic body is investigating why it was not included in the first phase despite being so close to the administrative building and the WTE plant.Suryawanshi also said that the firm operating the WTE claimed in its reply that the garbage mound was outside the plant’s premises and fell under the agency handling biomining operations. On allegations of illegal construction, the company sought additional time to submit documents, stating that records were buried under the collapsed administrative building.The issue dominated the PCMC general body meeting, with corporators cutting across party lines demanding criminal action against the suspended officers.BJP corporator Sheetal alias Vijay Shinde said, “Mere suspension alone was insufficient and these officers should be dismissed from the service. Besides, a case should also be registered against them for negligence.”Shiv Sena corporator Sulbha Ubale said the commissioner’s own notice had termed the collapsed administrative building illegal. “Culpable homicide charges be invoked against the officers, besides action against those who allegedly allowed the unauthorised structure to come up,” she said.
