Why 1.5L residents in South Bombay continue to live in shaky MHADA buildings
While redevelopment of a building in the island city is a lucrative proposition for builders, these are an exception as they stand on narrow plots
MUMBAI:
Aarti Bhosale’s family, residing in a 180-square-feet flat on the fourth floor of a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA)-developed building, Gharkul in Byculla, narrowly escaped death on July 22 when a slab collapsed from flat above. “I still shudder at the thought of the incident which occurred at 10pm. By 2am, a similar incident took place in the adjacent flat. Fortunately, no one was hurt there,” said Aarti.
Her neighbour, 70-year-old Suvarna Mayekar, said: “After the slab collapsed in the adjacent flat, we noticed damages to our own slab. As expected, it also collapsed around 2am. Thankfully, no one was injured. However, the repairs cost us about ₹12,000.”
The plight of Aarti and Suvarna is shared by owners of flats in 388 MHADA buildings in areas such as Colaba, Girgaon, Mumbadevi, Byculla, Shiwree, Prabhadevi and Mahim. Slab collapses and leakages are a strain on mental and financial well-being of around 150,000 residents.
These buildings, constructed over 35 years ago, are in a dilapidated state. While redevelopment of a building in the island city is a lucrative proposition for builders, these are an exception as they stand on narrow plots, without much buildable space available to make redevelopment a profitable venture. Another reason for the deadlock conditions instituted by the government last year: that the builder reimburse expenses incurred by MHADA in repairs, and the condition of handing over 20% of housing stock generated out of extra FSI for redevelopment for free sale to MHADA, which reduces the builders’ profit margin.
The issue surfaced in 2023 when chief minister Eknath Shinde announced in the monsoon session of the Assembly that these buildings will be redeveloped with all benefits under the regulation of 33 (7) of development control rules (DCR). Under this regulation all present occupants (flat owners) were to be rehabilitated free of cost with the developer getting FSI in order to recover the cost and make profit.
However, in November of the same year, government issued a notification to amend the rule to 33 (24) which mandated giving up minimum 300 square feet and maximum 1292 square feet homes in old MHADA and BMC buildings up for redevelopment, in the island city. The incentive FSI of 75% to 100% were to be given to builders depending on plot size and rate of construction in the area and redevelopment; whether the construction was coming up on a single plot or multiple plots. It failed to get any response from builders.
This led the MHADA Sangharsh Kruti Samitee to hold a protest at Azad maidan on August 28 to draw attention to the plight of people who were living in duress. Political leaders wasted no time to make good of the issue. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant and MLA Ajay Chowdhury; MNS leader Bala Nandgaokar; BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar; and NCP (SP) leader Vidya Chavan extended their support. Subsequently, Mumbai’s guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar led by CM Shinde reached the spot to pacify the protestors, assuring them a “speedy resolution to the issue”.
Meanwhile, while Aarti and Suvarna’s families were fortunate, many others were victims of the tragedy. Sangita Mhashilkar, a resident of Gharkul, recalled how her 90-year-old neighbour “Bhima Jiman was severely injured in the leg from a slab collapse”. This building, though old, has the potential for redevelopment given its proximity to other MHADA buildings such as Guru Sadan and Jagatsmruti – together, they stand on a land parcel of 2,380 square meters.
Residents of standalone buildings face graver challenges. Mandar Niketan, located near Byculla railway station, houses 66 tenants in a five-storey structure. Subhash Talekar, 54, an office bearer of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association, emphasised the redevelopment hurdles. “Our building is 35 years old with many structural damages. As it is on a small plot of 455 square metres, redevelopment seems impossible. Authorities should merge our building with adjacent properties to facilitate redevelopment,” Subhash suggested.
His neighbour, Sandip Late, said: “We spent over ₹20,000 last year to fix leakages, but the issue has resurfaced. This is a financial drain.”
Built in 1988, Kokan Manzil, a standalone building in Mazgaon, also faces similar challenges. Wasim Kazi, 43, a fourth-floor resident, called attention to structural weaknesses. “Many residents have tiled up walls to cover up the poor condition. MHADA has acquired the adjacent plot; if they merge them, redevelopment would be possible,” he said.
When HT spoke to Narendra Chavan, executive engineer of MHADA’s Mumbai building repairs and reconstruction board of F-South and E-2, he said, “We have started sending letters informing residents of 388 buildings that redevelopment opportunity under 33 (24) is in process. Letters have gone out to residents in over 60 buildings from Parel to Byculla. Residents’ demands are related to policy decision; if government takes any further decision, we will inform them.”
Milind Shambharkar, chief officer of the department, did not respond to HT’s messages.
Eknath Rajapure, working president of MHADA Sangharsh Kruti Samitee, concurred with Chavan: “Our demands are connected with policy matters, which the CM can resolve.”