After several cases of building collapses this monsoon, the BMC has resumed its drive to vacate and demolish dilapidated buildings. The civic body had halted its crackdown on such buildings in April owing to the pandemic and lockdown.
Civic officials said 443 buildings listed as dilapidated have been marked for demolition by the end of the year. The BMC classifies these as C1 category buildings, meaning they are beyond repair and need to be demolished urgently. Of the 433, 52 are BMC-owned, 27 belong to the state government and 364 are privately owned.
Zone 3, which includes Bandra and Andheri, accounts for 109 of these buildings. Zone 6, which covers Mulund, Ghatkopar and Bhandup, has 105.
In Zone 7, which includes areas such as Borivali, Kandivali and Dahisar, the BMC has already demolished eight of 53 dangerous buildings and evacuated another 14. Officials said the BMC has cut electric and water supply to another 16 buildings in these areas as residents are refusing to vacate them.
L ward has 23 dilapidated buildings, of which seven have been demolished, said Manish Walunj, assistant municipal commissioner of the ward. One of the seven, a ground-plus-twostorey building, was razed on Thursday.
“There was a dispute between the tenants and the landlord and a stay order on the [demolition of] Chakkiwala building on Pipe Road,” said Manish Walunj, assistant municipal commissioner, L ward. “We got the stay vacated and ensured that all residents moved out. Once the stay was vacated, we demolished the building. We are taking action after following due process.”
K-West ward has 46 dilapidated buildings. Of these, 13 have been vacated and the BMC has cut water and electricity supply to 15. “On Thursday we demolished the ground-plus-threestorey Deepavali building,” said Vishwas Mote, assistant municipal commissioner, K-West ward.
“There was a stay on the building’s demolition but we moved the high court and got the stay vacated. Since the building was adjacent to the main road, it was necessary to get it demolished. It was in a terrible condition. The residents had vacated it but the owners of some shops on the ground floor had refused to move out.”
In July, nearly one-third the sixstorey cessed Bhanushali building near Lucky House in Fort collapsed, killing 10 people. On August 27, a 12-year-old girl and a 70-year-old woman succumbed to their injuries at JJ hospital after part of a toilet collapsed in Mishra Building at Shuklaji Street, Byculla.
The same day, a woman sustained serious injuries when part of a building collapsed in Chembur. Also on the same day, a portion of a two-storey house at Gautam Nagar in Deonar caved in. One woman sustained injuries and was admitted to Shatabdi Hospital.
