A committee appointed by the Bombay High Court has issued a stark warning on the condition of Mumbai’s ageing cessed buildings, calling it a “miracle” that nearly four lakh residents continue to live in structurally unsafe structures awaiting redevelopment.
The panel report highlights that 12,552 cessed buildings across the city remain in various stages of deterioration, with many in severely dilapidated condition. Despite being identified as unsafe, these buildings continue to house thousands due to prolonged legal disputes, stalled redevelopment proposals and an acute shortage of rehabilitation housing.
According to the findings, nearly four lakh tenants are currently residing in these structures, many of which are considered structurally weak. The report also noted that redevelopment delays have forced families to remain in hazardous conditions with limited alternatives.
The risks were further highlighted during field inspections, when committee members narrowly escaped injury after a heavy cement block, weighing around 50 kg, fell from a staircase shortly after they passed the area inside one of the inspected buildings. Several structures visited by the panel were found to be on the brink of collapse.
A major concern flagged in the report is the shortage of transit accommodation. While the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has approximately 20,400 transit tenements, only about 500 are currently available for displaced residents awaiting rehabilitation.
The special panel, comprising retired Justice J P Devadhar and former principal district judge Vilas Dongre, was constituted to examine the condition of cessed buildings, assess redevelopment bottlenecks and review available rehabilitation infrastructure.
The report also records repeated complaints of redevelopment projects being delayed for years due to disputes among landlords, ownership issues and litigation. In several cases, tenants alleged that landlords neither undertook repairs nor collected rent for over a decade, leaving buildings abandoned in unsafe conditions.
MHADA has reportedly issued 935 notices under Section 79-A of the MHADA Act to expedite redevelopment, but many proposals remain stuck due to procedural delays and court cases.
Activist Jeetendra Ghadge described the findings as an “eye-opener”, calling for urgent legal reforms. Urban planners also emphasised the need for policy clarity, stronger self-redevelopment frameworks and transparent pricing mechanisms to speed up redevelopment and reduce risk to residents.
Source: The Times of India
