November 21, 2025: The tenants and landlords of 935 cessed buildings in Mumbai—whose redevelopment was halted after a Bombay High Court stay—have expressed cautious optimism as the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) completed a two-week hearing process mandated by the court. Between November 7 and 20, MHADA officials recorded submissions from both parties, aiming to resolve disputes arising from notices issued under Sections 79A and 79B.
The matter began when tenants challenged monsoon inspection notices declaring several buildings dangerous, arguing that “the notices given during the monsoon inspections to identify dilapidated buildings were not as per rules and were, in some cases, given by engineers who did not even belong to the respective ward.” Following this, the High Court imposed a blanket stay on all such notices. “This stay was brought in without considering if any of these landlords and tenants were willing to go ahead with the redevelopment or make it a fair deal for us,” said Dinesh Loke, a resident of Kondaji Chawl.
The court had criticised MHADA’s executive engineers for issuing notices “without jurisdiction” and alleged vested interests. In response, MHADA was directed to conduct hearings and submit a detailed report. Landlords of over 500 buildings were heard between November 7 and 12, followed by tenants’ hearings from November 14 to 20.
“We were asked for details such as whether our respective buildings had the required consent from the tenants, if our landlord had given consent for redevelopment, and if we had zeroed down on any developer,” Loke said, adding that many tenants had full consent from all parties.
For some, the situation remains dire. Jitendra Ghadge, a resident of Parekh Building, noted that while the committee advises tenants of unsafe structures to move to MHADA transit accommodations, “the harsh reality is that MHADA simply does not have enough transit homes to house thousands of affected families.” He added that allowing tenants to redevelop under Section 79B “is the most practical and humane solution.”
MHADA will submit its compiled report to the High Court next week. “We just hope that… our redevelopment begins soon,” Loke said.
Source: Mid-day
