The recent building collapse in Mumbai’s Mankhurd, which claimed six lives, including five children, has once again drawn attention to the area’s long-standing problem of unsafe and unauthorised housing. The Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar belt remains one of the city’s most vulnerable locations during the monsoon due to ageing structures, weak soil conditions, and rampant illegal construction.
Soon after the incident, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde stated that the collapsed structure was illegal, while the victims were living in unauthorised homes that were struck by the falling building. The affected family had reportedly been residing in a tin-sheet dwelling with a metal roof for the past two years.
The locality has witnessed repeated tragedies over the years. In 2021 alone, two separate building collapses in Mankhurd claimed 20 lives. Despite recurring incidents, unauthorised multi-storey structures continue to emerge, often violating the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) prescribed 14-foot height limit.
According to civic officials, the collapsed building stood on land owned by the Mumbai Suburban Collector’s office. Although more than 1,000 housing units occupy the nearly two-square-kilometre area, enforcement has remained difficult because of overlapping jurisdiction between civic and state authorities.
A government resolution also requires eligible occupants of structures built before 2011 to be rehabilitated before demolition can take place, making large-scale action challenging.
Officials say many houses are constructed using brick masonry, timber and temporary materials on reclaimed land and marshes with poor load-bearing capacity. Heavy rainfall weakens foundations, while additional floors built over existing homes increase structural stress.
Local resident and social worker Hasan Shaikh said the neighbourhood has changed significantly over the past two decades. “People started building another floor over their houses and either sold it to new families or rented it out,” he said.
Although demolition drives are periodically undertaken, residents often rebuild quickly, allowing unsafe structures to return and leaving the area vulnerable to fresh monsoon disasters.
Source: The Indian Express
