Is redevelopment the only solution for old dilapidated buildings in Mumbai?

Further, a four-storey building, named Gitanjali, collapsed in Saibaba Nagar in Borivali west. There were no injuries as the residents, fearing for their lives, had vacated the building minutes before the collapse. There were two more building collapses where no injuries have been reported.

What is the problem?

In many old buildings, the redevelopment is stuck due to several problems including disputes among residents, disputes between residents and the landlord, trust deficit in developers and a lack of legal documents of the society.

In the case of the Borivali housing society, talks for redevelopment were ongoing for at least a decade but nothing had materialised.

A lawyer involved in the legal advisory for the redevelopment of the Borivali building, not wishing to be named, said, "I took several meetings with the residents on the terrace of the building in 2018. Clearly, the residents wanted redevelopment but there was a dispute between them internally. A few residents had signed an agreement with one of the developers but nothing has materialised yet. It is very sad that the building collapsed due to a dispute among residents, waiting for someone to redevelop it."

The lawyer added, "It is not just that the redevelopment was stuck, but residents were residing in the building until the morning of the collapse. The building collapsed around noon and was vacated a few minutes before. This means several lives were at risk as they continued to stay in the building despite it being dilapidated."

Further, in the case of old cessed buildings that are regulated by MHADA, the transit camps provided by the authority are far from the existing location of the houses of tenants.

Additionally, tenants often complain that transit camps are not in ideal locations and lack facilities and basic amenities. Owing to this, the redevelopment of several buildings is stuck.

Another reason for dilapidated buildings not being vacated is that the homes in these buildings are cheap. For example, Moneycontrol reported about how apartments sizing 360 square feet are rented out in dilapidated buildings at GTB Nagar refugee camp.

Pratik Uppal, a nearby resident, said, "The buildings are in a dilapidated condition, but let me tell you that despite this fact there are takers for such buildings. The monthly rent for flats in such apartments is Rs 4,000 compared to around Rs 20,000 for apartments of the same size in structurally fit buildings in the vicinity. There are both buyers and sellers for flats in dilapidated buildings."

Another example is the Kurla building collapse that took place in June 2022. The apartments in the building constructed in the 1970s were allotted to people from tribal communities.

Authorities had said that the people seem to have sold these flats to non-tribals, who, in turn, rented them out. However, no proper repair work was undertaken nor was the building vacated despite the authorities calling it a dilapidated structure.

What is the solution?

According to authorities, there are more than 14,000 cessed or dilapidated buildings in central and south Mumbai. The only solution for these buildings is redevelopment. Several of the buildings are even as old as 100 years. Additionally, there are more than 300 dilapidated buildings of ownership in the city that require residents to vacate them and redevelop the same.

A Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) official said, "In the case of MHADA buildings, the only solution is redevelopment. We have cases where residents of dilapidated buildings are ready to give us in writing that they are willing to stay and they will be responsible for any untoward incident. The citizens must understand that redevelopment is the only solution."

The official added, "Currently, we are waiting for the President of India to approve a Bill passed by the state assembly that allows the takeover of stuck projects. Once cleared, it will pave the way for redevelopment of 58 buildings where thousands of residents stay or have been vacated and the redevelopment is stuck due to several reasons."

However, residents of such buildings are hapless.

Manoj Sawant, a resident of such a building, said, "Our building in Sewri area of central Mumbai was declared dilapidated and we vacated in the late 1990s. The developer is not undertaking redevelopment and we have been residing in transit camps for the last 22 years now. Many of the elders from our buildings have died, and we are yet to get our dream home. The government needs to create a conducive environment where tenants are not left in the lurch like we are."

If redevelopment is not possible

Ramesh Prabhu, Chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association, listed four measures to save old buildings or redevelop them.

Prabhu told Moneycontrol in June 2022, "Firstly, regular repairs will increase the life of a building. For example, doing something as minimal as fixing leakages and painting work every five years. A structural audit of every building that is older than 30 years should be a must, and even the Mumbai civic body mandates that. The residents should also explore if self-redevelopment is possible."

"If redevelopment is not possible due to several hurdles like disputes between developers and residents, the government should come up with a policy where the state housing authority can take over private buildings. MHADA can later generate housing stock of the additional FSI (floor space index), and sell affordable homes in the open market," he said.