VJTI structural audit in Jan 2023 had declared Kailash Prabhat “liveable and repairable”

Notably, one of the structural audits was conducted by VJTI for MMRDA as the buildings were adjacent to the Santacruz Chembur Link Road project

MUMBAI: Five structural audits were conducted in 2023 by the residents of Kailash Prabhat CHS, who are facing demolition of their buildings on June 19. The audits of the society, which stands adjacent to the prime BKC-Kurla junction, all categorised the buildings as C(2b) which stands for “liveable and repairable”.

Mumbai, India - June 11, 2024: 500 residents in Kailash Parbat CHS adjacent to BKC junction to be rendered homeless, as BMC will come armed with police protection on June 19 to evict them after court ordered demolition of the C1 category building in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Notably, one of the structural audits was conducted by premier institution VJTI for MMRDA as recently as January 2023, as the buildings were adjacent to the Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR) project. VJTI had classified Kailash Prabhat’s three buildings in the C(2b) category.

The four other reports were by private agencies appointed by the residents—the first one was by Saurabh Associates, which is on the registered panel of the BMC to assess the structural stability of buildings. Saurabh Associates also categorised the buildings under the C(2b) category in January 2023.

Fearing the loss of their homes and wanting a reconfirmation, residents appointed Orchid Consultants, which also gave the buildings the C(2b) tag not once but twice—in January and March 2023. The residents have spent ₹10 lakh on the structural audits since January 2023.

“We also have the MMRDA contractor’s report of 2020, which categorised our buildings under C(2b) when MMRDA first conducted a structural audit for the metro construction,” said Mehmood Ahmed. “We are not fools to risk our lives and reside in a C1 (dangerous) building with our families. We are educated people and are armed with five reports which categorise our buildings as C(2b). But nobody wants to listen to our pleas that there is a clear BMC-builder nexus to oust us from our homes.”

Adjacent as it is to BKC, the 66,000-sq-ft area on which Kailash Prabhat CHS stands is a goldmine, with real estate sharks eyeing the prime property. “We are not against redevelopment. We just want a credible builder,” said Mehmood.

In January 2023, the society’s managing committee, which is in favour of the redevelopment, produced a report from Kapadia and Kapadia Associates, which submitted a report declaring the buildings as dangerous (C1 category). The final nail in the coffin was the report submitted by the high court-appointed technical advisory committee (TAC), which in turn appointed IIT (Bombay) and declared the buildings under the C1 category, slating them for demolition on January 16, 2024.

“Two premier institutions like VJTI and IIT submitted two contradictory reports within a year,” said Mehmood. “How can a building turn C1 in a span of six months? The BMC isn’t interested in our facts and doesn’t even entertain us at the ward. The police detain us for protesting inside our own building compound. Is raising our voices to save our homes a crime?”

Residents alleged that the TAC committee had BMC members on it with a dubious reputation. They also said there were complaints of how other C(2b) buildings in their area were miraculously declared C1 and residents were ousted overnight without notice or following due procedure.

“We are not going to budge from our homes on June 19,” said Parvez Abdul Majeed. “It will be heartbreaking to lose our ownership flats. Are we foolish to risk the lives of our children and elderly ailing parents by staying in a dangerous building?”

The demolition will also bring the curtain down on the long court battle that the residents have fought since March 2023 from the city civil court to the Supreme Court. On June 7 this year, the SC dismissed their case, sealing their fate. “The SC judges said that they themselves were not technical experts and to go with the TAC report findings which had declared our buildings C1,” said a dejected Mehmood.

There are 132 families in Kailash Prabhat, of which a few, including the society chairman and secretary, have vacated. With no assurances in place from the builder after the building is razed, residents have no place to go if evicted by the BMC on June 19.

When HT contacted Ismail Qureshi, chairman of the society, he said he had moved to another place and would speak only in person.

What is a C(2B) category building?

According to the BMC’s classification, A C1 category means the building is very dangerous and needs to be vacated immediately. The C2 category is further divided into C(2A) and C(2B). In a C(2A) building, the dangerous parts of the building need to be demolished. In C(2B), major structural repairs are required. The C3 category needs minor repairs.