BMC informs Bombay High Court that contractors will now be held accountable for any untoward incidents in civic gardens following the tragic drowning of two minors in Wadala | File Photo
Mumbai: The BMC has informed the Bombay High Court that, henceforth, contractors appointed for the maintenance of gardens will be held responsible for any untoward incidents. The BMC’s decision came following the death of two minor boys who drowned in an open water tank in a civic garden in Wadala last March.
In April 2024, the HC had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the drowning of Arjun, 4, and Ankush Wagari, 5, in a water tank in Maharshi Karve Garden at Wadala, which had no proper cover.
BMC counsel Anil Singh told a bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata that, henceforth, contractors appointed for the maintenance of gardens will be held responsible for any incidents. He assured the court that contracts shall be drafted stating that all risks of loss or damage to physical property, as well as personal injury and death arising during and as a consequence of the performance of the contract — other than the expected risks — will be the responsibility of the contractor.
“The terms and conditions of the contract will include the contractor’s responsibility whenever we enter into agreements for maintenance, including covering the tank. If any accident or death occurs, the contractor will be held responsible,” Singh said.
He added that, pursuant to earlier HC orders, compensation was deposited by M/s Hiravati Enterprises, which had been awarded the contract for maintaining the garden where the incident took place.
The firm was appointed following a tender process for the maintenance of various gardens, playgrounds, recreation grounds, open spaces, traffic islands, and central medians in the ‘F/North’ Ward for 18 months—from April 7, 2023, to October 16, 2024. After the unfortunate incident, an FIR was registered against Patiram Yadav, the supervisor of M/s Hiravati Enterprises, which had been awarded the contract for maintaining the garden.
Additionally, a departmental inquiry into the concerned staff’s role in the incident has been initiated, Singh added. The HC has granted the BMC two weeks to submit the same in an affidavit.
Incidentally, on April 3, 2024, the civic body undertook a demolition drive at Wadala Bridge, during which the shanty of the boys’ parents was also demolished. This prompted the HC to question whether it was a planned demolition. The BMC later filed an affidavit stating that it had carried out demolition drives on multiple occasions between February 29, 2016, and January 29, 2024, to remove encroachments on the Wadala footpath. However, the encroachments keep returning.
