Ulhasnagar residents staying near collapsed building protest outside Assembly

The A wing of Mahak Apartments in Ulhasnagar collapsed on Tuesday, a day after 30 families were evacuated from there. The five-storey building had started tilting and had developed cracks.

Some residents of Ulhasnagar, staying adjacent to Mahak Apartments, a part of which collapsed on Tuesday, protested outside the Mantralaya - Maharashtra Assembly building - on Thursday, demanding the state resolve the issue of redevelopment of buildings in the city. They demanded that the state increase the floor space index (FSI) given to builders undertaking revamp.

Residents staying around the recently collapsed Ulhasnagar building in Kalyan protested outside the Maharashtra assembly in Mumbai, on Thursday, August 15, 2019. (HT Photo)

The residents wanted to meet chief minister Devendra Fadnavis before the flag-hoisting ceremony, but the police did not allow them to go ahead for security reasons. “Owing to the absence of proper FSI, redevelopment of buildings is not possible in Ulhasnagar. In the past 10 years, many have become homeless in the city. We were here in the hope that the government will pay heed to our demands and increase FSI so that our buildings can be redeveloped,” said Nikki Lulla, a resident of Ulhasnagar and one of the protestors.

After A wing of Mahak Apartments collapsed on Tuesday, three adjoining buildings were sealed by the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), leaving around 500 people homeless.

In the past 10 years, the redevelopment of more than 30 buildings has been stuck, waiting for a nod from the UMC. “We wanted to appeal to higher authorities as we are neglected. The UMC is also not providing those evacuated with any options to stay. FSI will help us redevelop and this, in turn, will give us our homes back,” said Ritu Wadhwani, another protestor.

The UMC has issued notices to multiple buildings that are in a dangerous situation, but have not taken any further action. Since the past two to three years, the position of the town planning officer has been lying vacant. Without an in-charge town planning officer, illegal development in Ulhasnagar increased.