Standing amid the scores of residents who refuse to leave the extremely dilapidated structures in the city are at least 270 rickety buildings that have been vacated years ago, but haven’t been pulled down, even though they could collapse any moment, killing those in the neighbourhood.
From a consensus among all stakeholders in the structure, to more inclusive redevelopment policies, just like the problem, experts say, the solution isn’t easy.
Lessons not learnt
On August 17, when Bruce D’Penha was at a repair shop near Rizvi College at Bandra to collect his laptop and charger, the adjacent ground-plus-four-storey Bharati building came crashing down, killing the 41-year-old. The 40-year-old structure which collapsed was vacated 20 years ago, but was razed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation only after the incident.
What makes matters worse is the two government agencies – the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Maharashtra Housing and Areas Development Authority (Mhada) – that handle dilapidated buildings in the city do not have a list of structures that have been vacated.
Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, “All such vacated structures need to be identified at the administrative ward level and the vicinity should be secured immediately. In many cases, such structures are under litigation which is why no repair or reconstruction is carried out. Recently, I directed the G-south ward (Worli, Lower Parel) to issue tenders to demolish structures on municipal land that are vacant for several years.”
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There are nearly 17,000 old buildings in the city that either need repair or reconstruction, while some require immediate demolition. Landowners cannot reconstruct old building without a nod from tenants who are protected under the Rent Control Act. According to a senior Mhada official, Mumbai has witnessed 300 deaths in building collapses in the past eight years with more than 3,500 incidents recorded during the time.
Examples galore
Areas in south Mumbai, Marine Drive, Bora Bazaar, Kalbadevi, Chira Bazar, Dongri, Tadwadi and so on, house a majority of these buildings, some of which are more than 60 years old. One such structure is 92-year-old Umravati Bokaria building, located on one of the busiest Bora Bazaar streets. It is a ground-plus-five storey structure in Fort, with no compound wall. It stands less than a meter away from its adjacent structures. The building was fully vacated 10 years ago, and since then, during the monsoon, parts of the structure give way. Residents from the vicinity are worried every time they pass by. Hiren Shah, a paper merchant from the neighbouring building, said a slab from the structure collapsed two years ago, damaging his parked car. “I had fought with the landowners and residents back then as it could have been a fatal accident. However, nothing has changed,” he said.
A second-generation vegetable vendor outside this building said, “Every time it rains heavily or there are strong winds, everybody in the neighbourhood is panicking. Schoolchildren, office-goers and locals cross this path daily.”
Manjunath Niwas at Fort is another such structure. The ground-plus-four structure is more than 80 years old and is vacant for six years. Rajendra Bhokse, once a resident of the building, said that this structure cannot withstand the next monsoon. “The structure is very weak,” Bhokse said.
Within a stone’s throw away from Churchgate railway station stands the 13-storey international hostel for students vacated two years ago. The structure at Road C near Wankhade Stadium is surrounded by six- or seven-storey residential structures. Since February, residents from the vicinity have reported multiple incidents of falling of debris from the building.
Vinod Patil, director of controller of board of examination at the Mumbai University, said, “The structural audit of the student’s hostel has been conducted and repairs have been suggested. The work is still in process and the repairs will be carried out soon.”
The trap
A disagreement between the tenants and landowners over repairs has stalled the work on Manjunath Niwas and Bokaria building for several years. Anil Diggikar, chief executive officer of Mhada, said last Thursday, “There could be such cessed buildings that are vacant for a long time. But a major issue is a disagreement between stakeholders or litigation for other reasons. We will identify such buildings and expedite the required action. This can be done soon.”
Bharat Gurjar, a former municipal councillor from Kalbadevi, said, “The authorities turn a blind eye to structures that have been vacated long ago. Landowners and tenants fail to reach a consensus for years. Moreover, policies that restrict construction on old plots stall the redevelopment.”
Also read: After Mumbai building collapse, BMC to help vacate dangerous Mhada houses
Mahendra Jain, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, who grew up in Fort area, said, “We are surrounded by ticking time bombs that could go off any minute. I grew up in Bora Bazaar in Fort and have been hearing of slab collapses. The problem is much bigger than just disputes between tenants and landowners.”
Vinod Ghosalkar, chairman of Mhada’s Mumbai’s repair and reconstruction board, said, “There are at least 272 vacated structures that are either acquired by Mhada or vacated dangerous structures that have not been demolished. I will soon give directions to conduct a comprehensive study of all such structures under Mhada and how the work on it can be expedited.”
