Mumbai: Calling it a “miracle” that lakhs of residents continue to live in structurally unsafe buildings, a committee appointed by Bombay high court has raised alarm over the condition of the city’s ageing cessed structures, highlighting delays in redevelopment and acute shortage of rehabilitation housing.
The panel’s report estimates that nearly four lakh tenants are currently residing in 12,552 cessed buildings across Mumbai, many of them dilapidated and awaiting redevelopment. While Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has around 20,400 transit tenements, only about 500 are currently available for rehabilitation. Another expert, requesting anonymity, said, “Cessed buildings, which have a lifespan of around 60 years, continue in occupied condition, some of them even touching 100 years, posing a serious threat to residents. There are over 12,000 such buildings.
It noted that prolonged legal disputes, stalled proposals and lack of adequate transit accommodation have forced residents to continue living in unsafe conditions. A key concern flagged is the severe shortage of transit accommodation. Many of these are technically unsafe but not in danger list yet. In fact, several buildings that were not declared ‘dangerous’ have collapsed. However, deals are struck with the help of officials and buildings are selectively declared dangerous to pave way for their redevelopment, often favouring a builder-politician nexus. “