26/11 attack: Govt has no clue about amount of property lost

More than a year and a half has gone by since the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. But the collector’s office still does not have any clue about the exact amount of property destroyed or damaged in the attack.

The fact came to light after Pune-based activist Vihar Durve filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking data from the collector’s office.

“How is it possible that a government which boasts about the security measures it has taken to prevent any future terrorist attack does not have such basic information? If the collector’s office has no information then how is it paying compensations to victims,” Durve asked.

Following the attacks, the state government announced a compensation of Rs5,00,000 to each of the deceased and Rs50,000 to every injured.

The data obtained from the collector’s office shows that 241 injured victims have been compensated. The kin of the deceased have also been given the money. But the government has not bothered to estimate the exact amount of property destroyed in the mayhem.

A reply to another RTI application has revealed that the collector’s office does not have any information regarding the duties, obligations, rights, liabilities to make payments to victims of the 26/11 attacks. The collector’s office has also acknowledged that none of this information has been published on the website.

“There was no claim from anyone regarding loss of property. So, the question of estimating property loss did not arise,” a source said.

Taj and Trident hotels being privately owned, the state cannot estimate the property loss there. But the collector’s office has no information about the loss of property at the CST either. District collector CV Oak could not be contacted.