Landlady refuses to allow MHADA to inspect home that is not repaired for years

An unoccupied 3000square foothome on the second floor of a centuryold building has been giving Maharashtra Housing Area and Development Authority MHADA officials sleepless nights for the last nine years The sprawling vacant flat in Mahaynoos Casbah opposite Girgaon Chowpatty has been locked for decades and not been repaired despite residents urging the landlady to do soThe centuryold Mahaynoos Casbah building near Girgaon Chowpatty the 3000squarefoot home on the second floor of the building which has been unoccupied since 1992 Pics Shadab KhanSince 2008 tenant Urvi Gupta who lives on the third floor of the mansion has been issuing complaints with the MHADA asking authorities to investigate why the house on the second floor owned by landlady Khorshed Irani hasnt gone in for repairs even as external work was carried out for the rest of the buildingAs the property is a cessed structure buildings where MHADA collects cess on rent from tenants for maintenance work the development authority is responsible for carrying out repairs However MHADA says its hands are tied because Irani wont allow them to do an audit of the homeAccording to Gupta a transport consultant by profession whose family has been living in Mahaynoos Casbah for over 55 years the said flat has been unoccupied since 1992 The second floor has no occupants since Irani took over as landlady in 1992 MHADA carried out external repairs in 2013 and 2015 but there were no repairs done internally As residents maintain their respective homes there is enough reason to believe that the vacant home is in bad condition she saidThe 3000 squarefeet home on the second floor of the building has been unoccupied since 1992Further Gupta also needs to carry out repairs on the flooring of her home However unless the problem is gauged from the second floor home she cannot go ahead as it could damage the structure said a MHADA official As a lawabiding citizen its my statutory duty to draw the attention of the law enforcing agencies to the blatant abuse of law taking place in this building she addedMHADA which has been bombarded with several complaints from Gupta has also issued several inspection notices to the landlady Back in 2008 when Gupta had first complained about the flat MHADA had carried out an inspection and also issued work orders for structural repairs However the orders werent followed Repeated notices since then have gone unheardMHADA sources said that the landlady had claimed that the property was under legal dispute But MHADAs letter in November 2016 states that the legal case had been closed Officials have now written to Gamdevi police station to intervene so that they can inspect the locked house once againThe centuryold Mahaynoos Casbah building near Girgaon Chowpatty Pics Shadab KhanNitin Killawala a structural engineer said If a home isnt repaired for over 20 years chances are that it would weaken the rest of the building especially flats below and above itD Mahajan executive Engineer from D ward MHADA said We have been following the case for months The landlady has been very uncooperative We have now asked for police protection to enter the house Once we get the required assistance we will ensure that the inspection is doneMeanwhile Irani claimed that none of the tenants had problems with the building MHADA has already carried out repair work in 2015 and the matter is closed she said