Tussle between BMC, residents over other tottering buildings in Mumbai

The fall of a sevenstorey building in Vakola earlier this month has forced Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC to rise to the challenge posed by numerous wobbly structures in the city that are still standing but only barelyHowever the demolition process has been hit by court stay orders the corporationrsquos own lapses and unyielding tenants who do not want to vacate their dwellingsJanki Niwas was vacated in June 2013 But it continued to remain standing endangering the adjoining Shankar Talekar chawlMeanwhile BMC has identified 593 newlylisted C1 category dilapidated buildings post the dockyard collapse The civic body has successfully emptied about 166 structures and had cut off electricity and water supply to 111 others But BMC wants to be more cautious and action against the remaining 310 C1 category buildings is in processOn the other hand the 166 vacated buildings are yet to be demolished as contractors have not been appointed so far The BMC has sent notices to 13779 buildings which are 30 years old or older for structural auditsHere are two decrepit buildings in the city that midday visited to find out how to stem the rotJanki Niwas DahisarResidents of the chawl next to the rickety Janki Niwas building were having sleepless nights after the Vakola incident The BMCrsquos RNorth ward office started demolition work here yesterday after our correspondent met the assistant municipal commissioner of the wardJanki Niwas located on Bhikaji Lad Marg near the railway station in Dahisar W was vacated in June 2013 But it continued to remain standing endangering the adjoining Shankar Talekar chawl where about 24 families still resideVinod Ware a resident of the chawl said ldquoWe personally went to the BMC ward office seven months ago but there was no response except assurances Finally on Wednesday morning the demolition work began We were told by BMC that at least the top two storeys should be torn down to make our lives saferrdquoThe corporation had declared the building dilapidated and evacuated it last JuneAfter a structural audit BMC sent a notice to the landowner to pull down the building The owner however said that he could not afford the expenses of the demolition and the BMC should do itBreak down BMC workers began demolition at Janki Niwas yesterday PicsNimesh DaveldquoThe demolition work has been started because midday visited the building and raised the issue I am not in a position to spend Rs 5 lakh on demolition and requested BMC several times to pull down the structure but nothing had happened in the past one yearrdquo said Raghunath Raorane the landowner He also revealed that every week one or the other portion of the building collapsed and it was putting the lives of locals at riskSantoshkumar Dhonde assistant municipal commissioner of the ward said ldquoWe have started the demolition work and are trying our best to raze the building as soon as possiblerdquoAzim Building Khar WestWhile BMC officials claim the tenants are not ready to vacate the premises as they want more benefits from the builder residents claim the civic body is hand in glove with the developers and hence is trying to prove that the building is dilapidated The 30 to 35yearold building at Kharrsquos 40th Road lies in ruins with the balconies teetering and the pillars crumbling endangering even the shops in the vicinity Being a bargain hunterrsquos hub the area has about 20 to 25 shops aroundIn ruins Azim Building at 40th Road on Khar W PicSayed Sameer AbediOne retailer on condition of anonymity said ldquoBMC has visited the building several times and also issued notices in front of us But the tenants and landlord donrsquot want to vacate There is always a fear of a mishaprdquoApart from issuing notices the civic body had also visited to cut the water supply of this building but as there was a court stay order on demolition no action was taken Hwest ward assistant municipal commissioner Prashant Sapkale said ldquoThe building is in a rundown condition and we have delivered notifications many times But with a stay order we cannot do anything as the order clearly states that the residents would be solely responsible for any mishap and not the corporationrdquoOn the other hand the tenants had a different tale to tell Salim Ansari a resident said ldquoThe building doesnrsquot need to be pulled down It just needs repairs that we have already started and we would get the building back in suitable condition This is not something that we are merely claiming we got a structural audit done and we are following the suggestions given The building might seem dilapidated due to it not being maintained properly but it is structurally strong BMC had issued us the first notice in 2005 and since then nothing has happened to our building This was just a way to put pressure on us at the behest of the builderrdquo