The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board has recommended a penalty of ₹25 lakh on a building site at the Gaur Aero Mall where construction activities were allegedly going on in violation of Stage 3 of the graded response action plan (Grap), which bans construction, among other activities, to reduce air pollution, officials said on Wednesday.
The police said a collapse at the construction site near Bhopra killed one worker on the intervening night of January 14/15. The victim worker was identified as Amit Kumar Saini, 19, who hailed from Manota village in Amroha district.
On January 14, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM, which oversees pollution abatement activities in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), had directed the implementation of Stage 3 of Grap in Delhi-NCR to contain rising pollution levels. The measures included enforcement of a strict ban on construction and demolition activities in the entire NCR, except for the exempted category projects.
“The Stage 3 of Grap is in place and construction activity was taken up at the site in violation of the restrictions. Our team also visited the site for an inspection. Now, we have recommended a penalty of ₹25 lakh on the site,” said Vikas Mishra, regional officer, UPPCB, Ghaziabad.
In connection with the death of the worker, the Tila Morh police on January 15 registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code section 304a (causing death by negligence) and 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings) against contractor Rajesh Kumar and contractor firm, Aditya Infra Heights.
“My son was working for the past 10 months with the contractor and the company. On the intervening night of January 14/15, the shuttering and the linter collapsed and my son got injured. When I reached there, I came to know that he died. It is due to negligence of the company and the contractor…,” Harpal Saini said in the FIR lodged at Tila Morh police station.
In response, the spokesperson of the Gaur group termed the incident “unfortunate”.
“After the Grap order, work at the site had stopped and the site was being cleared. Because of the fog and cold, the accident happened. We will reply to the pollution control board regarding the fine.The incident was extremely unfortunate. Aditya Infra Heights is working as a contractor at the site and all employees are his own. We are in touch with the family of the deceased and helping them in whatever way possible. We are also giving full cooperation to the police and other departments,” the spokesperson said.
Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police, Shalimar Garden, said no arrest has been made so far.
“Our teams are trying to make arrests in the case as it involves the death of a person. The incident happened during construction activity when the shuttering and other material collapsed at the site. Several others workers also sustained minor injuries,” the ACP said.