Mantralaya uninsured; repairs out of taxpayers’ pockets

Restoration of Mantralaya, the Maharashtra government headquarters in Mumbai which was gutted by a fire on Thursday, will be paid for out of the taxpayers' pockets, as with typical government myopia, it has never been insured.

In fact not a single state government building in the city or elsewhere in the state been insured, including the neighbouring Vidhan Bhavan, where the state legislature meets, points out a DNA report.

''If they had insured Mantralaya, then the cost of damage to the building, furniture and even the third party liability could have been compensated by the insurance company,'' said a top executive with an insurance firm. He pointed out that the premium on such insurance is almost negligible.

Public works department chief engineer Sakharam Tamsekar refused to comment on this, saying he was at a meeting. But, senior government officials confirmed that none of the prominent buildings, including Mantralaya and Vidhan Bhavan, has insurance cover, the report says.

''We are constructing several new administrative buildings across the state. But I do not recall any building being insured,'' said one official.

The government has reportedly said that the fire has caused damage to infrastructure worth Rs25 crore. This estimate is likely to shoot up once the ground assessment is complete.