Harni boat capsizing tragedy

As half a year passed to the tragic Harni incident that killed 14, including 12 children, the Gujarat High Court expressed disappointment on June 27 with the inquiry committee report.

After the committee submitted the report the bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi expressed displeasure and clarified that after reading the committee’s report, it seems that the committee is “trying to save the then municipal commissioner of Vadodara”.

The court observed that the report suggests the former municipal commissioner’s decision was faultless while trying to shift responsibility onto the technical team and contractor.

The bench expressed strong displeasure over the report of the principal secretary and directly questioned whether there was an attempt to save the then municipal commissioner of Vadodara.

The HC also questioned the role of the then municipal commissioner of Vadodara in the tendering process for the development of the Harni Lake.

“Why did the municipal commissioner not pay attention to the contractor before signing the contract? Does the committee not see any fault of the municipal commissioner?” questioned HC.

“Though the committee finds fault, it sidelines the role of the municipal commissioner,” said HC.

The HC also warned that if the report is taken into consideration by the court, it will increase the problems of the principal secretary.

The government stated that the report revealed the Kotia Project on Harni Lake to be non-compliant.

Earlier, as per the directions of the HC, a committee under the chairmanship of the principal secretary of the Urban Housing and Development Department was formed.

They conducted a detailed inquiry into the matters including– how the contract for the development of Harni Lake was awarded to the Kotia Project and the role of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation and the concerned officials including the municipal commissioner. 

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