LAHORE: A high-level inquiry team probing the factory collapse in Sundar Industrial Estate has held the Punjab Industrial Estates Development and Management Company (PIEDMC) chief executive officer, construction contractor, resident engineer, architect, chief engineer, factory owner and two others responsible for the incident, recommending legal action against them.

Action against the factory owner cannot be initiated as he and his son were among the 46 victims after the four-storey building collapsed on Nov 4 injuring over 100 workers.

A report was submitted to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif a couple of days ago by the industry department secretary, who was entrusted with the task to investigate the incident, fix responsibility and recommend action and remedial measures to avert such incidents in future.

The chief minister, according to sources, endorsed the report and formed a high-powered committee to study the incident and suggest measures to devise an effective policy to deal with such issues in a professional manner.

Besides declaring eight people directly responsible, the report also mentions a severe lack of supervision by the PIEDMC particularly at the time of construction and enforcing industrial building regulations.

“Although the Sundar Industrial Estate falls in the limits of Allama Iqbal Town Municipal Administration, its building control affairs -- approval of maps, construction etc -- are supposed to be supervised or dealt with by the PIEDMC’s board of management. So the board members will also be inquired in detail at a later stage over lacking supervisory control in the estate,” a senior official told Dawn while quoting the report.

The official, while requesting anonymity, said the officials who were supposed to ensure construction under building regulations did not bother checking construction, use of material and other building affairs.

“During the inquiry it has been proved that the material used in the construction of building was substandard. Similarly, its beams and pillars and other structure were weak, with a very low capacity to bear another floor. The recent earthquake had also weakened the structure, enhancing chances of collapse anytime,” he explained.

He said the factory owner did not check the condition of the factory and committed violations during construction by using substandard material, which was why those who were supposed to monitor and regulate such affairs also failed to perform their duties. They would be taken to task for being negligent and the private contractor, who got the construction completed, was also an accused among others, the official added.

The official claimed the owner violated the map approved by the PIEDMC authorities during construction. The map did not fulfil requirements of the industry building regulations and despite all this, it was approved prior to construction, which was apparently never monitored or supervised by the authorities concerned, he added.

The report recommends a detailed survey of all industrial structures in the Punjab Industrial Estates and other public and private sites, ensuring construction of such buildings was in line with regulations and proper monitoring mechanism to deal with such issues.

“Had the building laws been followed and construction work supervised by officials, the Sundar tragedy that caused deaths of many poor workers and injury to several others could have been averted,” the official added.

When contacted, PIEDMC Chief Executive Officer Naveed Mushtaq Gill said there was no provision in the bylaws that could empower officials to monitor or assess quality of material used in construction by private businessmen in the Punjab Industrial Estates.

“Under chapter 9 of our bylaws, responsibilities of officials and the owners have been narrated well. The whole responsibility related to construction work, use of material under the laws exists on the part of the owner and not the building control division of the PIEDMC,” he added.

He however admitted documents provided for approval of the map did not fulfil legal requirement. He also said the PIEDMC management had constituted its own committee to probe the incident and amend prevailing laws that could enable officials to monitor or supervise construction.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2015