‘Will bring in bill to protect rights of tenants living in Mumbai’s dilapidated buildings’

The Maharashtra government will bring in a bill to protect the rights of tenants living in Mumbai’s dilapidated buildings, Ranjit Patil, minister of state for urban development, said in the legislative assembly on Friday.

The Maharashtra government will bring in a bill to protect the rights of tenants living in Mumbai’s dilapidated buildings, Ranjit Patil, minister of state for urban development, said in the legislative assembly on Friday.

Patil was replying to a private member bill tabled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Parag Alavni.

Patil said a nexus of landlords and builders often get buildings declared dilapidated, after which the tenants are evicted and left stuck in transit camps for decades.

“We need to bring in a foolproof amendment, for which we will first conduct a survey of the entire city,” Patil said.

He said considering the consensus across parties for the bill, a meeting will be called under the chairmanship of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, where representatives from the Assembly, MHADA and the BMC will finalise its nature.

“People have been living in transit camps for decades and don’t know where their landlords are. Authorities turn up unannounced to evict people, and those rendered homeless have no rights to help them get a house within a stipulated time in the same area,” said Alavni.

Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad said to force their tenants to move out, landlords don’t maintain homes, keep the area unclean and ensure garbage is not picked up.