Another illegal building in Pydhonie faces the axe

Aggrieved with the notice, tenants of the building moved the small causes court and got a status quo order in August that year

After Gulistan Apartments, the illegal building on Ismail Curtay Road which the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) began demolishing last week, yet another illegal building in Pydhonie is slated to face the bulldozer. This 10-storey building at Ibrahim Rahimtullah Road on Masjid Street in Bhendi Bazaar has 88 families living in it, all of whom are staring at a bleak, homeless future.

An unauthorized construction of behind Zaika Bakery, Qureshi Nagar, Kurla (Satish Bate)

Amol Mesharam, designated officer, C ward, told HT that the tendering process for the appointment of a demolition contractor was on. “Like Gulistan Apartments, this building too was constructed in 2018,” he said. “Eighty-eight flats and 18 shops were constructed illegally. All are still in the occupied stage up to the fifth floor, while the other floors have been partially demolished.”

In 2018, a stop-work notice was issued for the five floors that were constructed till then. Aggrieved with the notice, tenants of the building moved the small causes court and got a status quo order in August that year. “Taking advantage of this order, the sixth to the ninth floors were constructed by the builder right under the BMC’s nose,” said Mesharam.

The pandemic in 2020 followed by the second wave in 2021 brought the BMC’s demolition action to a standstill. In 2022, an eviction notice was served by C ward to residents from the ground to the fifth floors, and police protection was requested simultaneously.

“The floors from six to nine have been demolished while the apartments from the ground to the fifth floor are still occupied. The residents are still living in this building as they have put their life’s savings into their houses,” said Mesharam.

2018 was the year when C ward’s reputation was tarnished after the issue of Gulistan Apartments was brought up in the assembly and three civic officials were suspended over the illegal construction.

At present, under Mesharam, there are no new illegal buildings that have come up, but the building and factories department is salvaging its image by taking up old cases. “Now C ward does not allow illegal buildings to come up. After officials were suspended from this ward, civic officials have been extra-vigilant and are also working towards cleaning up the old mess. As and when the ward receives a complaint, the beat officer visits the site and issues a notice, follows due process of law and demolishes the illegal construction,” said Mesharam.

Two more wards are notorious for illegal constructions that go beyond the building proposal department’s approved plan. B-ward, notorious for being the abode of erstwhile underworld gangsters, is a hotbed of illegal constructions. At one time, civic officials would dread a posting to this ward as it inevitably entailed a run-in with the aggressive land mafia of the Dawood Ibrahim gang. However, right now there is another problem plaguing B ward, and it stems from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada). The cessed buildings of the ward, which fall under Mhada, seek repair permissions and then the builder lobby, under the guise of repair permissions, constructs floors beyond the approved plans.

One such building under the scanner of B ward is on Zakaria Masjid Street where the BMC has put up a notice board announcing the building’s illegality. “But despite this notice, people are still buying unauthorised homes there,” said a civic official from the building and factories department in B ward. “People buy flats from such builders at cheaper rates since they don’t want to leave the neighbourhood. Many are aware about the illegal status but still go ahead – and later curse the BMC for demolishing their homes.”

The official added that the sixth to the eight floors of this building, which are illegal, were still occupied. “The matter is status quo in the Bombay high court and the BMC has appointed a senior counsel to get the stay vacated,” he said.

Devidas Bhavari, designated officer, B ward, which comprises Dongri and part of Pydhonie, said there were 1,343 Mhada buildings and 2,070 private buildings in B ward. “We take action against illegal private buildings but we cannot directly take action against cessed buildings belonging to Mhada. When Mhada gives a work order through the government authority, MLA funds are utilised or tenants collect funds and repair the dilapidated buildings, which is required. But with that work order, builders take advantage and construct illegal floors,” he said.

Two months ago, Bhavari drafted a circular that it was mandatory for Mhada, while issuing repair permissions, to declare the existing number of floors and furnish a completion certificate to the BMC after the repairs were completed by the builder.

“This completion certificate is crucial and will let us know how many legal floors there are, so that we can accordingly keep tabs on the number of illegal floors and initiate action,” he said, pointing out this major lacuna responsible for unauthorised construction in Mhada’s cessed buildings.

The BMC has also identified five unauthorised constructions L ward’s Qureshi Nagar and Kasaiwada, which is infamous for illegal constructions coming up during weekends and holidays. A civic official from L ward’s building and factories department explained that since Kasaiwada was not a planned area, it largely had two- or three-storey structures which were dilapidated and needed to be demolished. “However, they demolish the buildings and reconstruct them without the requisite approvals. When they get a notice from the BMC, they go to court and get a stay order. We don’t get police protection during demolition drives, and thus our demolition gets delayed. Kasaiwada has 500 two- or three-storey dilapidated structures like this,” the civic official added.

In L ward, in the last seven months, approximately 800 notices have been issued to illegal buildings, illegal alterations, and unauthorised constructions beyond the approved plan. “The builders demolish existing structures and construct full-fledged illegal constructions. During weekends when the BMC offices are shut, they extend the height,” said the civic official.

Citizens can complain about illegal constructions on the BMC helpline 1916 or RTMS link on MCGM website and even use the right to information(RTI) tool.