'The ground has shifted beneath our feet'

It was ire and fire at a Monday December 2 evening meeting when residents from Dadar Matunga Shivaji Park and the neighbouring stretch met at King George School D Block at Hindu Colony Dadar Eu00a0The agenda was to discuss about the lsquoheritage precinct declared in Hindu Colony Five Gardens Wadala and Matunga which has stopped the redevelopment of old dilapidated buildings which is a nightmare for tenantsrsquo B Mungekar speaks as the panellists on the dais look on from l B Bhawanji K Kolambkar and 88yearold Prabhakar Pansare Hindu Colony resident PicsAmit Jadhav The venue saw older residents and a smattering of younger people some of them talking nostalgically about the past contemplating a tense present and debating an uncertain future The residents were against the area coming under the heritage list as this would mean no redevelopment for most buildings and repairs too they said would be difficult because they could be done only after a runaround getting various permissions from the heritage committee A building at Hindu Colony Dadar Picture used for Representational purposes The meeting began by 610 pm with opening speaker Babubhai Bhawanji president South Central Mumbai District Congress Committee encapsulating the mood of the residents by saying that the proposal had the residents ldquovery worried It is like a Damocles sword hanging over our headsrdquo said Bhawanji ldquoMany buildings within this area are about 7080 years old and can fall at any time Rainwater seeps into homes because of cracks in walls and ceilings and there have been cases where people living here have been grievously injured because balconies have fallenrdquo Retired teacher Shanti lets it fly Bhawanji also claimed that older residents who may be suffering from knee pain and have been advised against climbing stairs by doctors ldquowill be virtually trapped in their homes because redevelopment will be stopped and there are no lifts in these old buildings There are also twothree families who live in a one room tenement in chawllike accommodation here their dream of having a home of their own will die if this comes under the heritage listrdquo Bhawanji appealed to representatives Dr Bhalchandra Mungekar MP and Kalidas Kolambkar MLA who were present at the meeting to approach the Govt and ldquoresolverdquo the issue The hall fills up with residents eager to voice their concerns Categories After Bhawanjirsquos impassioned beginning that got the residents nodding ldquoyes yesrdquo to most of what he was saying Matunga resident Rakshit Pasad took the mike and clarified that most buildings within the area fall under Heritage Grade II and Heritage Grade III categories In the former redevelopment is not allowed though repairs are allowed after necessary permission In Grade III structures redevelopment is allowed ldquobut buildings will be allowed to go till seven floors only In todayrsquos times we see buildings reserving three to four floors for parking so how are all the tenants to be accommodated within seven floors Laughter club members at Five Gardens Matunga during a morning session Pic Suresh KK The ground has shifted beneath our feet at the prospect of our buildings coming in the heritage listrdquo said Rakshit with a touch of the dramatic Rakshit added that ldquowe now live in constant fear that a portion of dilapidated buildings may collapse cars which were a luxury earlier now are a necessity and so there is a parking crunch everywhere The landlords are finding it difficult to maintain buildings on current rents With no redevelopment a tenantrsquos dream of getting an ownership home is dustrdquo The Shivaji Park maidan ringed by residential buildings PicAtul Kamble Rakshit then went to the genesis of the problem saying ldquoHow did this bomb explode on us Apparently a bunch of first year students at an arts college were given an assignment to make a heritage list in the city This list was then simply taken by the authorities as a proposed heritage list This list has been made with no application of mind lack of expertise and nobody has visited these sites to even see what condition these buildings are inrdquo Rakshitrsquos words were followed by murmurs of agreement and hoots of derisive laughter were heard when he stated ldquothe Heritage Committee comprises 15 members We hear there were four members when this list was drawn up so where is the quorumrdquo In the end he stated that though the alarm bells had started ringing ldquoThis is a proposed list and has not yet been implementedrdquo Those who were impatient to have their say had started stirring uncomfortably in their seats by now The mike was passed around to the residents A member of the audience Sanjeev K touched a chord when he stated ldquoHeritage means buildings of historical importance they have ties to history I do not understand what ties most of these old residential buildings have to history There are people who have been living here since more than 50 years if their building collapses where do they go This is injusticerdquo Himanshu N from Matunga made a case for redevelopment when he stated ldquoLike a person every building too has a life a shelf life repairs are like an injection they may cure the problem temporarily but it may not heal fully We all need to understand what a serious problem this isrdquo he stated darkly Fiery Shanti one caught the first name only because of the decibel level in the hall a Dadar resident began by saying she had written about the lsquoheritage tagrsquo and tried to get her piece accepted by a morning newspaper ldquoIt was not published because maybe it was not sensational enoughrdquo she said sarcastically to laughter from the listenersu00a0 She stated that her own building at Dadar ldquowas virtually on the verge of collapse a peepul tree has practically grown into my loft I cannot see how 15 members of a committee can decide the fate of millionsrdquo she said to rapturous applause This retired teacher thundered ldquoWe are not a bunch of fools and why are we denied the chance of a better liferdquo Another resident Manohar S stated succinctly ldquoDevelopment is the business of the people here not the business of the people in ivory towersrdquo Finally K Kolambkar took the mike stating that most of the buildings in the area do not fall under the heritage tag and ldquowe must stand with the publicrdquo and ldquounderstand their problems and try to address themrdquou00a0The baton or in this case the mike was then passed on to Dr B Mungekar who stated ldquoI have taken a round of Hindu Colony with a clutch of residents some time ago and I can state that a majority of buildings here are not fit for occupation One must understand the lingo of anguish and anger I am always for the underdog but let us understand too that we are not here to criticize the government This is not the final draftrdquo Mungekar stressed that he was ldquonot against heritage but a structure must qualify as heritage to make this listrdquo This former pro Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University added ldquoWe see redevelopment in textile hubs in Mumbai where new buildings go upto 10 floors and beyond so why only seven floors at Hindu Colony We cannot have different yardsticks for different peoplerdquo As evening turned into night and the long twilight shadows at the schoolrsquos maidan became obliterated by darkness Mungekar ended on a rousing note ldquoIf people come together to fight injustice nobody will dare to do them injusticerdquo The curtains fell on this meet but it was evident that this residential hubrsquos conundrum is a microcosm of a pan Mumbai dilemma striking that delicate and difficult balance between heritage and development Deterioration Dangers In an elaborate dossier made by residents to press their case they cited their reasons for opposing the heritage tag Some of these were gtgt The majority of buildings in the area have been constructed prior to 1940 Most of them have completed 70 years and have outlived their structural strength gtgt Most of the buildings are in a highly dilapidated condition and are further deterioratingu00a0 gtgt Heavy leakages are visible from the external walls gtgt All sides of the building face heavy leakages during the monsoon lsquoWhy the area of Hindu ColonyParsi Colony Five Garden Precincts should not be declared as Heritagersquo gtgt Only a few structures like Dr Ambedkarrsquos House lsquoRajgruharsquo VJTI UDCT Church of Don Bosco School the Fire Temple Five Gardens Khodadad Circle Ramnarain Ruia College have real heritage value gtgt The majority of buildings of the precincts are cessed buildings and have no archeological features They do not have any historical or cultural significance We are suffering residents gtgt Allergies due to humidity on the walls because of leakage gtgt Constant threats of fire collapse and other mishaps gtgt Lack of amenities like lifts and recreation areas Senior citizens on higher floors find it difficult to climb down or walk up gtgt Lack of basics like hygienic toilets as they are compelled to use common toilets gtgt Parking problems due to limited open spaces u00a0