In its report on the Sai Siddhi building collapse in Ghatkopar, submitted to civic chief Ajoy Mehta on Wednesday, a three-member committee has placed the blame squarely on local Shiv Sena strongman Sunil Shitap.

The committee found that "it is beyond any doubt that unauthorized work carried out by Shitap at the ground floor is the trigger for collapse of this structure, and hence he is solely responsible for the loss of life and property in this building collapse." The committee recommended that Shitap be prosecuted by the police and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).

The committee was appointed to ascertain the cause of the collapse of the ground-plus-four storey building in Ghatkopar, and suggest a course of action to prevent such incidents in the future. Seventeen people were killed and 11 were injured in the incident that took place on July 25.

The committee gave a clean chit to assistant municipal commissioner of N ward and two other civic officials who residents of the building claimed were in a nexus with Shitap. The committee did not find any documentary evidence against them.

The committee, headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner Vijay Singhal, was formed on July 26 and was supposed to submit its report in 15 days. However it sought a 10-day extension on August 10, which was granted by the civic chief.

The committee also includes Dy. Municipal Commissioner (Improvements) CD Chore and Director (ES&P) (i/c), Ch.Eng.(Roads &Traffic) VP Chithore.

The committee observed that "Shitap had been acting extremely irresponsible, showing his disregard for the rules and regulations, and other fellow residents' concerns." Further, it found that "Shitap seemed to have indulged in unauthorized construction in N ward and S ward areas, and grabbing public land and constructing structures for monetary benefits."

The civic committee appointed M/s Structwel as structural consultant to investigate the reason for the collapse. Its report indicated that Shitap had carried out renovation work without adequate and scientific propping.

The committee found that changes made to the building were were never checked either by the Building Proposal Department or the Assistant Engineer (Building &Factory) of N ward. Sai Siddhi was also not in the list of dilapidated buildings marked by BMC. However, two structural audits had suggested that it required immediate major repairs. One structural audit was carried out by a resident and another by Shitap. However, residents of the building disregarded the recommendations.

According to committee report, according to the report they received from the assistant commissioner of N ward, no complaint in any form was made regarding any addition or alteration carried by Shitap. There were no complaints from any local public representatives, like corporators, either.