Theories Abound Whether Blaze Was Started To Destroy Files Of Important Cases And Projects
The inferno at the state secretariat on Thursday gutted the offices of many vital government departments, left at least four floors structurally weak, and incinerated scores of computers as well as thousands of important files. Speculation was rife through the day whether the fire was an accident or an act of sabotage carried out to destroy documents relating to crucial cases and projects.
Senior officials refrained from putting a figure on the damage but admitted that the disaster had "set the government back by at least a year". With heaps and heaps of documents that lined the corridors and rooms of Mantralaya getting lost, the state will have to start from scratch again in many cases. Files will have to be somehow recovered, passed around departments for perusal as well as approval, and budgets allocated.
The biggest brunt may be borne by the departments that were hit the worst on Thursday. The blaze destroyed the offices of the urban development department, revenue department, education department, home department, transport department, the chief minister, deputy chief minister and several ministers. This meant that files relating to cases such as Adarsh and Lavasa besides scores of other construction and development projects could be lost forever.
Officials stressed that Adarsh records can be recovered from the CBI or the two-member judicial commission; CBI officers too maintained that they have all the "requisite documents necessary to file a chargesheet".
Still, conspiracy theories raged over the cause of the inferno. Many wondered if the secretariat was sabotaged to rid of records maintained by the urban development department of real estate proposals and projects. The theory
was fed by the fact that the fire reportedly began near the department. Another conjecture that did the rounds was that the blaze was started to fast-track the redevelopment of Mantralaya. A controversial proposal for the building's makeover using an FSI of 4 as part of a slum redevelopment scheme had earlier been withdrawn. Leader of opposition in the legislative council Vinod Tawde reportedly said the incident could be an accident, a conspiracy, or even an act of terror. He demanded the government set up a committee of national and international forensic experts to probe the matter. Tawde's party colleague Eknath Khadse, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, also demanded an independent investigation.
With a number of theories floating around, the state government ordered a probe by Mumbai police's crime branch into the disaster. Also, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan pointed out that 27,000 government files had been digitised as part of a drive.
The crime branch, meanwhile, claimed there is little possibility of "any mala fide intention behind the fire". "At this point it is difficult to say anything, but we are probing all possible angles," said a senior police officer.
GOVT IN THE HOT SEAT
Thursday's fire raged through floors 4 to 7 of Mantralaya. Here are the important offices on those floors: 4TH Urban development dept, secretary and deputy secretary of energy, secretaries of revenue and forest, sports minister, education minister, education department 5TH Chief secretary, water conservation dept, additional chief secretary (home), principal secretary (home), emergency operations centre (disaster management control room), transport dept, cooperatives minister, principal secretary (culture & excise), higher and technical education minister, protocol office 6TH Chief minister, chief minister's secretariat, deputy chief minister, deputy chief minister's secretariat, general administration department, minister of state for education 7TH Home department, information technology dept, Aadhar office, cultural dept
WHO WAS IN BUILDING On floors where fire was: Ajit Pawar, Babanrao Pachpute, Prakash Solankhe, Nitin Raut, Satej Patil, Jayant Banthia
On floors without fire: Home minister R R Patil, rural development minister Jayant Patil, water conservation minister Laxman Dhoble, woman and child development minister Varsha Gaikwad, forest and relief rehabilitation minister Patangrao Kadam
HOW THEY ESCAPED
Initially, fire was on 4th floor of main building. Most people then escaped through staircases As the fire progressed, many people went to windows and parapets Some people slid down water pipes Around 65 people were rescued through snorkels (fire brigade ladders) REMAINS OF THE DAY: A firefighter watches the gutted interiors of a Mantralaya room after the flames have been doused |
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