Residents of derelict LIC buildings protest against eviction notices, increasing rents

Most of the buildings are in dire need of repairs and redevelopment. The 68 cessed buildings, located between Mahim and Colaba, house over 2,500 families

Mumbai: Around 500 residents of 68 derelict buildings owned by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) held a protest at Azad Maidan on Monday against the public sector company for allegedly trying to evict them.

Mumbai, India – Aug 12, 2024: Residents protest against LIC's draconian policies, the fundamental right to equality does not prevail in LIC-owned buildings where different tenants are charged different rents, residents are forced to pay exorbitant rents that are double their income or vacate their homes, buildings are almost 100 years old and need urgent redevelopment but LIC is not in favour of redevelopment at Azad Maidan, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, Aug 12, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Most of the buildings, built over a century ago, are in dire need of repairs and redevelopment. The 68 cessed buildings, located between Mahim and Colaba, house over 2,500 families.

Cessed buildings are maintained and repaired by the Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board, which is part of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). Tenants of these buildings pay a cess to the housing authority for maintenance.

Hundreds of residents of these buildings, armed with placards, sloganeered against the country’s biggest insurer at Azad Maidan, saying they were being arm-twisted into giving away their homes. They demanded the buildings to be redeveloped rather than harassing them to evict.

“Many of these buildings are as old as 130 years, are very shaky, and we fear for our lives. However, all that LIC is trying to do is evict us by pasting notices of eviction and increasing rents,” said Ramesh Jain, a resident at Angrewadi in Sikka Nagar, Charni Road. Jain is also the chairman of the LIC Tenants and Occupants Welfare Association (LTOWA).

The homes in these buildings, which are either ground-plus-two-storeys or chawls, are anywhere between 100-220 sq ft in size. Jain explained that when the buildings were built during the British era, the land owners might have taken loans from different insurance companies, which then wound up over the years. These were then merged with LIC, which then got the rights over the buildings as well.

The residents claimed that LIC inspectors visit their homes at odd hours to verify their identities. “If houses are found locked due to people going for daily jobs or if the family is out on holidays, they paste notices asking them to evict. People residing in these buildings are terrified even to leave [their homes]. Moreover, the condition of these buildings is abysmal, and there is a clear threat of them collapsing. In the past, MHADA had done a structural audit of a few buildings and deemed them dangerous, but LIC claimed that these buildings are in good condition,” said Mukesh Shah, general secretary of LTOWA.

Apart from the condition of these cessed buildings, residents also claimed that rent collected by LIC differs from neighbour to neighbour. “I pay a rent of ₹4,500 per month while, for the same house, some neighbours on our floor pay ₹700. There is no clarity on the reason behind this difference,” said Gayatri Chavan, a resident of Minerva Mansion in Dadar. Her family has been residing at the building for over 100 years.

The protesting residents claimed that LIC wants to evict them and redevelop these prime properties as quarters for their staff. Later in the day, they met with the LIC management and guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha.

“I have told LIC that they cannot evict these tenants under Section 79 of the MHADA Act. They will also have to charge nominal rent and not randomly increase it,” said Lodha.

Despite repeated attempts made by HT, officials from LIC remained unavailable for comment.