The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) on May 26 said that as per its pre-monsoon survey, 21 buildings have been identified to be ‘extremely dangerous’, and that people residing in these buildings should vacate.
Arun Dongre, chief of MHADA's repair and redevelopment board told Moneycontrol that these 21 buildings are more than 80 years old. In all, there are more than 14,000 dilapidated buildings in the city.
Every year before the monsoon, the state housing authority carries out a pre-monsoon audit and based on the outcome, notices to vacate are issued to residents of these ‘dangerous’ buildings. The residents are given free transit tenements built by MHADA. However, residents refuse to vacate their homes due to preference of location. Also, redevelopment of old dilapidated buildings is a major issue in the city and time and again there are incidents of building collapse during monsoon.
In a statement, the MHADA said, "Regular pre-monsoon survey of old and dilapidated cessed buildings in Mumbai City under MHADA's Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) has been completed and this year 21 buildings have been found to be extremely dangerous. These 21 buildings include 14 buildings which were declared as high risk last year in 2021."
According to MHADA, the 21 buildings are from South Mumbai covering areas like Girgaum, Mazgaon, Khetwadi, Kamathipura, and VP Road. There are 674 residents and 266 non-residents in these 21 high-risk buildings with a total of 940 residents / tenants. As per the action taken by MBRRB, 190 resident tenants / residents have made alternative arrangements for their own shelter. So far, 72 residents have been relocated to transit camps. Also, as repair work is in progress in 5 buildings, eviction notices have not been issued to 223 tenants / residents of these buildings.
"The MBRRB is in the process of making alternative arrangements for them in the transit camps for the residents of 21 buildings. We are appealing to the tenants / occupants of high risk buildings to assist the officials and staff in evacuating the buildings as required and to follow the instructions given by the Board officials for safety in order to avoid loss of life and property in the event of an accident," the statement said.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department, Mumbai receives maximum rainfall in the month of July every year. Maximum incidents of building collapse of dilapidated structures are reported during July and August.
Meanwhile, apart from the list issued by MHADA, the Mumbai Civic Body which is India's richest civic body also known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), issued a list of 337 residential buildings in the city of Mumbai as dangerous in the last week of April 2022. Of these, 337 buildings, 70 are in south Mumbai, 104 in eastern suburbs and the remaining 163 are in the western suburbs.
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