Illegal buildings flourish in Bhiwandi with little safety

The expert claimed that builders mount more floors above the structure. “There is no check on the structure’s load-bearing capacity. Most of these godowns, and warehouses are already overloaded. The upper floors are simply built and given on rent for cheap rates

BHIWANDI: Two days after the horrific building collapse in Bhiwandi that killed eight people, experts claim that several illegal constructions have mushroomed in Bhiwandi’s rural areas even after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) was appointed as the planning authority.

Thane, India - January 27, 2023: One person killed and one rescued by fire brigade after part of a two-storey building collapses early morning at Khadipar area, Bhiwandi, in Thane, India, on Friday, January 27, 2023. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

These illegal constructions include warehouses, godowns and residential flats for labourers with no safety norms.

“After MMRDA was appointed as the planning authority for Bhiwandi rural, it was expected that the infrastructure development would be looked after by the authority. However, a bulk of the infrastructure that has come up here is illegal and most have flourished after MMRDA came into the picture,” said KK Dhururaj, a Bhiwandi resident who runs an engineering consultancy.

The Maharashtra government notification dated March 17, 2012, appointed MMRDA as the ‘Special Planning Authority’ (SPA) for Bhiwandi Surrounding Notified Area (BSNA) which includes the area of 60 villages. Being SPA for BSNA, MMRDA prepared and submitted the Draft Development Plan to the Government for sanction in December 2012.

Therefore, due to BSNA’s high commercial potential in terms of being a hub for logistics, warehousing and industries, combined with its proximity to Thane and Mumbai and connectivity through major corridors, it was necessary to ensure planned development of this region.

“In these villages, farmers who were not able to cultivate crops and facing loss, they gave their lands to builders to develop structures for warehouses and godowns. Builder developed ground-plus-one storey buildings for warehouses and later sold them to investors. These companies after three to five years of operation again asked the builders to develop another floor above without doing any structural audit of the existing building. Also, the existing structures have terraces where water is accumulated during monsoon all these years and it weakens the structures. In the case of the present Bhiwandi collapse, an audit was required which has not been carried out at all,” said Dhururaj.

The expert claimed that builders mount more floors above the structure. “There is no check on the structure’s load-bearing capacity. Most of these godowns, and warehouses are already overloaded. The upper floors are simply built and given on rent for cheap rates. Labourers and their families, who are in desperate search of a shelter live in these tenements due to cheaper rents and without checking its safety,” said Dhururaj.

Prominent workers’ union leader VIjay Kamble claimed that these warehouses hire workers for cheap wages and provide them accommodation without even ascertaining the load-bearing capacity of the buildings.

“There are no safety measures followed by the companies when it comes to the labourers and workers. They give them ₹10,000 as a salary and get all the work done. There are no proper records maintained on how many workers operate in a company or godown. These workers are also not provided with any safety gear like helmet or guard while carrying, loading materials,” said Vijay Kamble, who is part of a communist-led workers union of unorganised workers.

“We have decided to raise this issue for the safety of workers and labourers, especially in Bhiwandi and are ready to approach the court in this matter. We need to have a proper guideline for the labourers and workers,” added Kamble.

Bhiwandi remains Mumbai’s Grade A warehousing hub

A research report by Bengaluru-based Colliers India released on Monday said industrial and warehousing demand across the top five cities remained strong during Q1 2023, rising by 11% year on year at 7.2 mn sq ft. “Delhi-NCR led the demand during the first quarter accounting for 29% share in total leasing, followed by Mumbai at 25%. Mumbai saw 37% year-on-year rise in leasing, led by 3PL operators who continued their expansion spree in the city despite weaker economic and business sentiment. Tauru road and NH 48 in Delhi NCR and Bhiwandi in Mumbai remained attractive markets during the quarter,” the report said. 3PL operators are companies which provide all three services of packaging, warehousing and delivery to grocery stores. The report said, “With demand being upbeat amidst limited supply, rentals across top micro-markets saw an annual rise. Chakan in Pune, and Bhiwandi in Mumbai were some of the key micro markets which saw an uptick in rentals by 14% and 6% respectively,” the report said. Bhiwandi’s Mankoli, Vadape, Padgha, and Vashere attracted the bulk of the investments.