25 years after it collapsed, Govind Tower occupants still struggling to get it rebuilt

Govind Tower was a residential-cum-commercial building with shops and a bank on the ground floor, four residential storeys and a guesthouse on the top three storeys. The building was constructed in 1975 as a two-storeyed structure and the remaining floors were added subsequently. And therein lay the seed of the tragedy

MUMBAI: On August 3, 1998, Govind Tower, a seven-storey building in Kherwadi, Bandra East, came crashing down, killing 33 occupants and injuring 80. An unbelievable 25 years later, the survivors are still running from pillar to post to get it rebuilt.

Mumbai, India - Nov 07, 2023 : Govinda Tower, Opp Ram Mandir, Kherwadi, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Nov 07, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

Govind Tower was a residential-cum-commercial building with shops and a bank on the ground floor, four residential storeys and a guesthouse on the top three storeys. The building was constructed in 1975 as a two-storeyed structure and the remaining floors were added subsequently. And therein lay the seed of the tragedy.

While the official number of casualties was pegged at 33, the survivors maintain that 42 people died on the fateful day. Several assurances were doled out by political leaders, government officials and agencies but justice eluded and continues to elude the occupants. Even the promised compensation to the kin of the deceased and those who were injured has not materialised. The occupants have been doing the rounds of courts for over 22 years now.

Harking back to the tragic day, the owner of the guesthouse, Dilip Datwani (64), said that hearing about the building’s collapse was akin to the ground slipping away from beneath his feet. While the guesthouse, illegally added to the building with the connivance of government and civic officials, was one of the factors responsible for the crash, Datwani said he bought it already constructed from the builder, Jairam Chawla, without any idea of the technicalities.

Seven of Datwani’s staff members were among the victims. “I, along with the other residents, have spent my prime years fighting to get the structure rebuilt and for compensation for the victims,” he claimed. “I was in Spain at the time, so I couldn’t even help my people in any way. The guesthouse manager, who was supposed to look after operations in my absence, also lost his family members. Yet, he stood firm with the staff and guests till everyone was accounted for.”

Datwani recalled how the then chief minister Manohar Joshi had promised a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the kin of the deceased, and the then mayor Nandu Satam had declared that an expert committee would pin responsibility for the crash within two weeks. Headed by another former mayor K C Shrivastav, the committee had held officials of the BMC, MHADA and the builder Jairam Chawla responsible for allowing unauthorised construction of the upper floors of the building.

In 2001, the Bombay high court held 15 persons responsible for the collapse, 11 civic officials among them. The decision was based on the Srivastava Committee Report, which noted that the quality of material used for construction was poor, and the top three floors added to the load of the structure. “Then and now, the government and its agencies have only deflected the blame falling on them,” said Datwani.

After remaining in limbo for several years, an arm of the now bankrupt RNA Group, AA Estates, was appointed to rebuild Govind Tower in 2012. However, no construction was initiated. The current court battle of the residents is to be able to appoint a developer of their choice to start reconstructing their homes. However, the RNA group has claimed that the right to redevelop the building is an “asset” they own, and taking it away while the group is in the insolvency resolution process will hurt its financial interests.

“Our hopes had shot up in 2012 when the court appointed RNA Builders to rebuild our homes,” said Nagesh Suvarna, one of the eight original petitioners. “They had promised to give us possession within three years. However, they made no move to get the necessary permissions from MHADA and the BMC. MHADA, we were told, even sent them a few reminders to pay the necessary premium before construction but RNA never responded.”

Suvarna rued that the residents of Govind Tower had spent the better part of their lives fighting the system to get their homes back. “Many families are still living on rent,” he said. “We feel robbed but are hoping against hope that this battle ends soon and does not need to be continued by our children. All we want is to get our homes rebuilt at the earliest, whether by RNA or any other builder.”

Despite repeated attempts, Mhada VP Sanjeev Jaiswal was not available for comment and Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) chief Arun Dongre could not comment as he was on medical leave.

CASE STUDIES

‘Nine of us had to live in 200 square feet’

As a 40-year-old in 1998, Ashok Ghatalia (65) was fairly well settled. He was then running a pharmacy in a decent neighbourhood in Kherwadi, Bandra East, with his elder brother Harshad while two other brothers ran another shop also inherited from their father. Harshad and Ashok’s flats and the pharmacy were all in Govind Tower.

The family’s happy life came apart on August 3, 1998, when the building collapsed, and in a single stroke, the brothers lost their homes and their source of livelihood. Twenty-five years later, their families continue to live in rented apartments while still holding on to a tenuous hope of getting their own homes again.

“Harshad and I, families in tow, had to go live with our other brothers,” recalled Ashok. “From providing our kids with every comfort, we went to cutting down expenses. Nine of us were confined to a 200-square-feet house after having lived in a spacious apartment of 1,200 square feet. Even the surgery that was required to be done on my son Yash, who injured his leg during the collapse, was borne by me with absolutely no support from the government. My kids had to wear hand-me-downs during their formative years and suppress many of their desires as teenagers.”

The Ghatalias are thankful that they did not lose any family member in the tragedy. However, rebuilding their lives has not been an easy task. Once they could afford it, Ashok moved his family into a small apartment. “We had to move every three years from these rented premises,” he said. “Some years ago, a friend moved abroad, and we shifted into his flat. Finally we could stay in the same place for an extended period.”

Ashok worries that he will not be able to provide for his sons the way his father distributed his assets between his six sons. “If we still had property in the building, the flat and shop would be worth crores,” he said. “I don’t even know who to blame: fate, the government or the system in our country.”

‘Those were the worst days of my life’

Vijay Hegiste (52) lost his elder brother Sadanand and sister-in-law Sushila in the crash, leaving him to shoulder the responsibility of their two sons Praveen and Pandurang, then 16 and 13. The children had a providential escape, as they were attending tuitions when Govind Tower came down.

“While dealing with the loss of my much-older brother who was like a third parent to me, I also had to look after his children,” said Vijay recalling what he says were the worst days of his life. “They were devastated and I had to console them and wipe their tears practically every day for over a year.” Vijay runs a paan shop in Kherwadi, not too far from where the building crashed.

Apart from the emotional turmoil, Vijay was also burdened with the financial responsibility of four children (including two of his own). His 93-year-old father Vasant was a tremendous support on the emotional front so Vijay decided to focus on the other aspects. He ensured that the boys got a good education and grew up into strong, independent men. While Praveen, sadly, lost his battle to cancer last year, Pandurang is working as a swimming coach in New Delhi. “All that is left for me to do is to ensure that my nephew gets the property that he and his brother would have inherited from their father,” said Vijay.