LUCKNOW: Heads of seven senior officials of the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation are likely to roll in the Varanasi flyover collapse in which 18 people were killed on Tuesday.
From Managing Director to Assistant Project Manager The three-member probe committee formed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to inquire the reasons for the collapse of a section of the under-construction flyover in Varanasi submitted its report on late Thursday night to the government and has named seven officials for the lapses.
Official sources here on Friday disclosed that the government was considering to lodge an FIR against these erring officials and later they could be arrested too.
Varanasi district authorities have already lodged an FIR against officials and the agencies working at the incident site under section 304,308 and 427 of the IPC.
The committee headed by State Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) Raj Pratap Singh, also pointed out six major lapses in the project because of which the incident occurred.
Chief engineer of irrigation department Bhupindra Sharma and Jal Nigam MD Rajesh Mittal, were the other two members of the committee.
The probe committee has recommended strict disciplinary action against seven officials including managing director Rajan Mittal, chief project manager SC Tiwari, former project manager Genda Lal, project manager KR Sudan, assistant project manager Rajendra Singh and junior project managers Rajesh Pal and Lal Chand.
The last four officials have already been suspended after the incident on Tuesday while on Thursday, the MD Rajan Mittal was removed from the post.
The probe committee found that the drawings used in the construction had not been approved by the competent officer of the department.
The high-level probe panel has further pointed out in its report that the beams laid between the columns had not been tied with the cross beams.
The report further says that the UP State Bridge Corporation Limited did not maintain a record of the batch mix plant because of which the ratio of cement, sand and grit used to cast the beams was not affirmatively as per the set standards and had also not been checked by competent officials at regular intervals.
Moreover, the working unit at the spot involved in mixing the concrete did not have the requisite checklist.
The committee further said that after carrying out inspections, the officers were not issuing their remarks after the inspection.
Most importantly, the team found that the agency had not carried out any kind of barricading at the construction site and had not provided an alternative route for movement of traffic on the stretch.
The CM has directed officials to ensure that similar lapses are not repeated in any construction work in the state.
Meanwhile, another committee set up by the PWD was also probing the technical lapses in the incident.
The three-member committee will submit its report within a fortnight.