Mumbai has 602 dangerous structures, 63 near Ghatkopar building that collapsed

A list of dangerous buildings were made as part of the BMC’s pre-monsoon preparedness drive — 602 buildings fall in the C-1 category, or the most dangerous.

A building just 500 metres from the Siddhi Sai apartment that collapsed on Tuesday is one of 63 listed as dangerous in Ghatkopar.

The rescue work in progress on Wednesday.(Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

But residents continue to live at Kamla Bhavan, despite notices from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to vacate. There are 602 such dangerous buildings in Mumbai currently, and Ghatkopar houses the second highest number of them.

A list of dangerous buildings were made as part of the BMC’s pre-monsoon preparedness drive — 602 buildings fall in the C-1 category, or the most dangerous. Of these, the BMC has demolished 186 (23%) buildings and have evacuated 117 (14%) as of March-end, according to data obtained by HT. 

 There are also s C-2 and C-3 buildings .— the first require major structural repairs, while the second need minor repairs.

BMC sources said once identified as dangerous, the buildings are sent notices under section 354 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, 1888. Under the Act, residents are asked to vacate the premises within seven days.

But the problem lies not in identifying the buildings or evacuating them. Residents of Kamla Bhavan said they had nowhere else to go. “We have been waiting for redevelopment for more than 14 years now. Yes, the building received notices from the BMC, but we also have no other option,” one resident told HT. 

There are several such old buildings in the Damodar park area alone, where the five-storeyed Siddhi Sai building collapsed , but none of them appear on the list of dangerous structures.