Mumbai Asks People To Leave 23 ‘Most Dangerous’ Buildings Ahead Of Monsoon

Mumbai has asked residents to move out of 23 “most dangerous” buildings ahead of the monsoon as the state housing authority looks to preempt disaster during the rains.

That comes after the Mumbai Repair and Reconstruction Board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority conducted a pre-monsoon survey. The board said it will provide temporary accommodation to the residents until their tenements—comprising 507 residential units and 308 non-residential units—are repaired or demolished and restored.

The number of buildings declared unsafe rose threefold over last year, according to MHADA.

“As per necessity the board has issued/issuing vacation notices to the residents of the most dangerous cessed buildings for taking appropriate necessary action to saves lives and properties,” said Dinkar Jagdale, chief officer, Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board.

There are 14,200-odd cess buildings in the island city, a senior government official told BloombergQuint requesting anonymity. Such structures, mostly present in middle and south Mumbai—between Mahim and Nariman Point—date back to at least 100 years. The landlords of these buildings pay cess or repair tax to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The tenants pay monthly rents amounting to a few hundred rupees—in a city that has the country's most expensive real estate—which is mandated under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act and has been frozen for decades together.

“As per state government directions, survey of the dilapidated buildings shouldn't be restricted to pre-monsoon period only but should be carried out throughout the year,” MHADA said in a statement. “Accordingly, if in the future other buildings are found in dilapidated condition then the same shall be declared as most dangerous from time to time Therefore, more buildings may be declared more dangerous in due course if necessary.”