Even months after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sent a letter to the owner and tenants of the iconic Kitab Mahal mentioning that it was in a precarious condition, nothing much has been done to repair the structure.

Citing concerns over its safety, the tenants of the Fort building sent a legal notice to the civic body raising objections against the status of the current landlord. The BMC hit back with another notice saying that as they failed to carry out the necessary repairs, they would now initiate legal action against them.

Based on a legal notice sent by the Kitab Mahal Residents' Welfare Association on February 4, the tenants have challenged the status of Moti Bhatia as the building's landlord (as mentioned in BMC's letters). The notice states that as the previous lease expired in 1999 and it hasn't been renewed since, the BMC cannot consider Bhatia as the landlord.