Bombay HC gives nod for demolition of 100-year-old dilapidated Mumbai building, directs occupants to vacate it

The Bombay High Court has given a go ahead to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC to demolish a centuryold dilapidated building in south Mumbai and directed its occupants to vacate the premisesThe HC in an order passed on August 11 a copy of which was made available on Monday noted that the building H N Petit Widows Home was located on a busy road and in the event of any untoward incident it could cause loss of livesA division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Kamal Khata upheld the BMC technical advisory committees TAC decision holding that the building was in a dilapidated and dangerous condition and has to be hence demolishedBased on the committees report the BMC in April this year issued a letter to the buildings landlord to vacate the premisesA few occupants of the building and tenants who run shops on its ground floor however refused to vacate the premises and moved the HC arguing that the structure only needed minor repairsThe ground plus five floor structure is more than 100 years old It was used for providing hostel facilities to widowsDue to the buildings poor condition the widows residing there were moved to another hostel in 2019In October 2021 the civic bodys TAC held a structural audit meet wherein it came to the conclusion that the building was in a dilapidated condition and may collapse thereby endangering life of not only the residents but also passersbyIt said the building had to be demolished at the earliestThe high court in its order noted that the TAC had rightly formed its opinion and said it was not inclined to form a differing opinionIt is an admitted fact that the said building is situated on a plot of land in a very congested and crowded area of Bhuleshwar in south Mumbai and lots of people are passing through the road on which the building is located the court saidIf this building is allowed to be retained if any untoward incident occurs then there will be a loss of lives not only of the occupants of the building but also passersby the bench saidThe court further held that the plot on which the building stands also abuts the proposed Metro rail alignment and falls within the influence zone of station areasWe also take note of the fact that a substantial part of the land beneath the building is affected by regular line as well as by the Metro the HC saidIf the building is demolished and is not reconstructed then the tenants have an alternate remedy in law it addedThe court said it cannot accede to the request of the petitioners who are occupantstenants of the ground floor to repair the building as this would protect their interest but would ignore the rights of the buildings landlord and other occupantsThe HC while upholding the TACs decision and the BMCs letter of April 2022 directed the occupants to vacate the premises within three weeks so that the building could be demolishedIf the occupants do not vacate the premises then the BMC can take forcible possession and carry out demolition the court saidThe bench also refused to stay its order saying it has already granted three weeks time to the petitioners to vacate the premisesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever