Following the fire incident at a gaming zone that claimed 33 lives in Rajkot, building use permission granted to gaming zones in Ahmedabad had come under the scanner. . 

Senior officials of the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had filed a chargesheet against 22 inspectors, blaming them for not properly verifying the gaming zones in the city before issuing the BU permission. 

However, after a review by an investigation committee, the charge sheet was withdrawn on Monday, as the evidence presented was found to be baseless.

Interestingly, the investigation committee’s report made no mention of any issue related to building use permission. Despite this, the charge sheet was filed, citing building use violations as the basis for pinning the blame on  the inspectors. 

The high-ranking AMC officials appeared to be trying to cover up their own inaction by passing the buck on the inspectors.

When some of the inspectors had the chance to cross-examine the committee members, they questioned the findings of the investigation report. 

In response, the committee admitted that the report did not address the building use permission issue, thereby proving the charge sheet invalid.

It was also noted that both the deputy municipal commissioner and the assistant municipal commissioner were equally responsible for granting the building use permission, but they were not held accountable. Instead, the blame was placed on the inspectors.

The controversy surfaced after the fire incident in Rajkot, which led to the closure of several gaming zones in Gujarat. 

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