Had permission for only two floors, but owner built five

LUDHIANA: Not only was the fivestorey Gola Plastic Factory erected without requisite approvals, its owner Inderjit Singh Gola had submitted a false document to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) in 2016 regarding the building map, claiming it was approved by an engineer empanelled by the department of factories.

After the Monday’s factory collapse that claimed 13 lives, the officials of the Ludhiana municipal corporation, PPCB and the industries department are involved in a frantic search for documents related to the factory.

GOLA SUBMITTED FALSE DOCUMENT TO PPCB ABOUT BUILDING MAP, CLAIMING IT WAS OKAYED BY AN ENGINEER EMPANELLED BY THE DEPT OF FACTORIES

Even as the officials are struggling to find the requisite documents and clearances, the document submitted by Inderjit to the PPCB last year has further established the illegality of the factory.

The building map shows the factory having two floors only while the owner had constructed five floors.

The document bears the signatures of one Rajinder Kumar Singla, as a competent person approved by the director of factories, Punjab.

Singla, a civil engineer, is said to have approved the building plan in connivance with the owner.

“It is clear that the engineer hired by the department of factories approved the building plan in connivance with the owner. The ongoing inquiry will unearth the facts and the engineer who approved the plan will also be traced,” said an official. Investigations have also revealed that the house tax register with the municipal corporation showed it to be a two-storey building.