TMC orders immediate evacuation of 37 high-risk buildings housing 191 families after Virar bldg collapse

Thane Municipal Corporation orders evacuation of 37 dangerous buildings after a deadly collapse, urging residents to leave for safety.

THANE: Four days after 17 people were killed and nine injured when the illegally constructed Ramabai Apartments collapsed in Virar East, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has directed immediate evacuation of 37 “highly dangerous” buildings that still house 191 families.

TMC orders immediate evacuation of 37 high-risk buildings housing 191 families after Virar bldg collapse

The order, issued on Friday by municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao following a review meeting, instructed assistant commissioners to directly engage with affected residents and ensure that they vacate the premises without delay.

“These highly dangerous buildings should be vacated immediately after interacting with residents,” Rao said. “The residents must be made fully aware of the life-threatening dangers posed by remaining in such structures. The buildings will remain in the possession of the residents—they must have no doubts in this regard.”

93 hazardous structures in Thane

According to TMC data, there are 93 buildings under the C-1 category—the most hazardous—within its limits. Of these, 56 have already been evacuated, but 37 continue to be occupied. The affected families are spread across different wards: 27 buildings in Naupada-Kopri, seven in Utalsar, two in Diva, and one in Mumbra.

C-1 buildings are deemed unfit for habitation and require complete evacuation, while C2A and C2B structures are unsafe but can be made liveable with extensive repairs.

The TMC said it will continue dialogue with residents to persuade them to leave their homes until necessary repairs are carried out.

On August 20, Hindustan Times had reported that the TMC had identified 909 unauthorised buildings in its jurisdiction. Of these, 175 have been demolished and 52 partially demolished. A bulk of these structures—740—are located in the Diva division, while 74 are in Kalwa-Mumbra. The civic body shared these details with the Bombay high court earlier this month.

The Virar building collapse on August 27, has intensified scrutiny of illegal and unsafe structures across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

The Bombay high court has also raised alarm over the problem. On August 27, a division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Manjusha Deshpande observed that the state’s urban development department “cannot remain a mute spectator” when civic bodies are struggling to contain unauthorised constructions.

“To overcome rampant illegalities in development and construction, the urban development department needs to step in by notifying a comprehensive and robust policy, which should be uniformly implemented,” the bench said.

The court warned that without a “drastic approach” to curb the menace, the future of Maharashtra’s fast-growing towns could descend into “chaos and disaster…for generations to come.”

The remarks came while hearing a petition by Thane resident Rahul Pawar over an unauthorised building in Vartak Nagar, which had been demolished by the TMC.