Building collapse raises questions of inadequate affordable housing

The collapse of a wing at Naik Nagar Housing Society in Kurla, which killed 18 residents, is the latest grim reminder of what the lack of affordable housing in a burgeoning city like Mumbai could lead to

The collapse of a wing at Naik Nagar Housing Society in Kurla, which killed 18 residents, is the latest grim reminder of what the lack of affordable housing in a burgeoning city like Mumbai could lead to.

Rescue operations under way on Tuesday after a four-storey building collapsed at Naik Nagar, Kurla (East), on late Monday night. Satish Bate/HT Photo

Civic officials said the building was constructed in 1973 and it was in 2013 that the local ward office declared it a “dilapidated” structure and issued a notice to the tenants asking them to submit a structural audit report. In May 2016, the water supply and the sewage and electricity lines were disconnected. But the occupants refused to vacate the building.

Page Break

Survivors of Tuesday‘s incident and relatives of the deceased HT spoke to said their kin were aware of the condition of the building, yet they were compelled to stay there because it was affordable.

Sahdev Tastode, 68, is the maternal uncle of Ajinkya Gaikwad, 32, who was a security guard with a corporate firm, and stayed with his family on the second floor of the building. The bodies of Ajinkya and his parents, Prahlad Gaikwad, 65, and Lilabai Gaikwad, 60, were pulled out from under the debris after a 16-hour operation.

“The Gaikwads had been staying in this building for more than two years and they were aware of the construction quality of this structure. The only reason they preferred to stay here was because of the affordable rent. They used to pay around ₹6,000 per month, while the usual rent in Kurla and its adjoining areas would vary between ₹15,000 and ₹25,000,” Tastode said.

Satish Kshetre, 27, is one of the survivors. He has been staying in the building as a tenant for more than five years. Kshetre said he was supposed to relocate to a new house in Chembur on Monday (the day when the incident occurred). However, he postponed the matter by two days as his relatives visited him.

“The only reason why I was staying in this building was because of the rent. All tenants pay around ₹5,000- ₹8,000 a month, depending on the size of the flat, which is comparatively cheap considering the standards of Mumbai,” Kshetre said.

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) disconnected the water and sewage lines, the residents carried out a structural audit of this building in 2016. In the audit report, the status of the building was defined as ‘repairable’ instead of ‘dilapidated’, following which civic officials said they resumed the water and electricity lines.

“How come the status of the building can change suddenly? The authorities should have raised a concern earlier and have initiated a thorough investigation so that these lives could have been saved,” Tastode said.

BMC officials, however, claimed that since it was a private building they had limited powers to take action.

Mahadev Shinde, assistant municipal commissioner of L ward, under which the building falls, said, “After an auditor submits a report stating the condition of the building is repairable, we have to accept it considering it is a private building, and resume the utility services. However, for the last five years we have been sending the tenants regular notices to carry out repair works.”