Families of building collapse victims to get Rs 7 lakh compensation

Bengaluru: Following the building collapse in Babusapalya, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each family of the deceased workers.

He attributed the incident to shoddy construction practices rather than rainfall, and directed the BBMP to survey all under-construction buildings in the city to ensure regulatory compliance.

Of the total compensation amount, Rs 2 lakh will be provided by the Labour Department, while Rs 3 lakh will come from the BBMP. "The state government will also cover hospital expenses for the injured workers," he stated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM's National Relief Fund.

"Anguished by the loss of lives due to the collapse of a building in Bengaluru. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover soon," he posted on social media platform X.

'Constructed on revenue site'

Siddaramaiah revealed that the building was constructed on a revenue site without the necessary licences or permissions from the civic body.

“It is an unauthoried building,” he said. “The BBMP issued a notice, but did not halt the construction. I have instructed officials to notify the zonal commissioner and the executive engineer. This is an unfortunate tragedy, and I have told officials to ensure that such situations do not arise again.”

During his visit to the site, the chief minister expressed visible anger, reprimanding BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and other engineers for failing to stop the work despite knowing it was unauthorised.