A day after the deaths of two construction workers at an under-construction Metro Line 4 station in Bhakti Park, Wadala, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Friday imposed a Rs 6 crore penalty on the contractor and general consultant responsible for the project.

The two workers, Nahij, 33, and Sakim, 37, died after an iron staging, used as scaffolding, collapsed while they were climbing down from the first floor of the under-construction Bhakti Park station at around 7.30 pm last Saturday.

The contractor, Reliance Infrastructure and Astaldi SPA Joint Venture (RAJV), was fined Rs 5 crore, and the general consultant, a joint venture of DB Engineering & Consulting, Hill International and Louis Berger, was fined Rs 1 crore.

Story continues below.
Subscribe to see fewer ads.

The action comes days after the incident, which MMRDA did not disclose until after the deaths. The Wadala TT police registered an FIR on September 15, three days after the incident, against site supervisor Tarikh Ul Islam under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for causing death by negligence.

The workers were reportedly winding down for the day and preparing to return to their rooms when the staging gave way. Both were from Tetia village in West Bengal. Their bodies have since been sent to their families.

Fellow workers rushed them to Sion Hospital, where Nahij was declared brought dead. Sakim died later that night while undergoing treatment.

MMRDA said it conducted a detailed examination of the incident and held the contractor and general consultant accountable.

Story continues below this ad

“MMRDA accords the highest priority to safety and took immediate cognisance of the Bhakti Park incident, initiating action on the very same day,” it said. The authority said its preliminary findings indicated lapses at the supervisory level of subcontractor Milan Road Buildtech.

The same contractor, consultant and subcontractor were also involved in the Metro Line 4 stretch where a parapet slab collapsed on LBS Road in Mulund in February, killing one and injuring three.

In that incident, the slab fell on vehicles travelling beneath the viaduct. MMRDA imposed penalties of the same quantum — Rs 5 crore on the contractor and Rs 1 crore on the consultant. An investigation and police probe found that a welder had cut interlocking hooks before the concrete had set, causing the slab to come loose.