The Kesarbai building collapsed at the congested Dongi locality in south Mumbai, which caved in like a proverbial pack of cards on Tuesday morning, had in a structural audit report submitted to the Brihan Municipal Corporation (BMC) had been declared as a “dangerous” structure which was “to be evacuated for demolition at the earliest”.

Even two years after the BMC classified as it as a dilapidated structure that should be demolished immediately, at least 15 families were continuing to live in the Kesarbai building,  which is believed to be 80 years' old. 

Incidentally, the name of Kesarbai building is conspicuous by its absence in a list of 499 “dangerous” buildings in the metropolis prepared by the BMC,

In a statement released in the evening, the State-run Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA) that Kesarbai Building — 25/C — had been evacuated last year. The structure, however, collapsed earlier on Tuesday, leaving at least 10 persons dead and eight others injured.

The MHADA stated that the structure that collapsed on Tuesday was the illegal rear portion of the same building which does not fall within the purview of either MHADA or Mumbai Building Repairs & Reconstruction Board (MBRRB).

Meanwhile, an RTI reply given by the BMC revealed that from January 2013 till now, Mumbai has witnessed a shocking 2,704 different types of crashes including buildings, walls, balconies, slabs, portions of homes, etc.

“The crashes have resulted in 234 deaths, including 82 women and 152 men, besides injuring another 840, comprising 302 females and 538 males. Despite these tragedies, no steps have been taken by the BMC to demolish the buildings declared 'dangerous' in the past six years,” RTI activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh Sheikh said.

It may be recalled that in 2014, a Bombay High Court Division Bench comprising Justice AV Mohta and Justice AA Sayed had directed the BMC to identify all dilapidated and dangerous buildings in Mumbai and put up their list on its website.

Based on the condition of the structures, the classifications are: C2 - buildings which can be repaired, and C1 - buildings which cannot be repaired and must be demolished at the earliest, he added.

The court had also ordered the BMC to draw up the list irrespective of its ownership -- whether private, Government, BMC, or any other agency -- and send notices to the occupants to vacate such buildings.

Slamming the BMC and MHADA for passing the buck like on the previous occasions, activist Shaikh — who had procured several documents under RTI Act — said, “Since the high court’s order in 2014, the BMC has done nothing to evacuate all these 499 dangerous (C1) buildings and demolish them. We cannot rule out the possibility of another mishap during the current monsoon”.

The BMC’s “B ward” had received a report from the trust that owned the Kesarbai building had received a structural audit report on July 31, 2017 stating that this building had been classified as “C1” building. The “C1” categorisation means that the building is in a dangerous state that “it is to be evacuated for demolition at the earliest”. However, the residents of Kesarbai building had not vacated the building for the past two years.

Following a complaint by a resident, the BMC had issued a notice to the Kesarbai Building owners, Bai Hirabai Rahimbhai Aloo Paroo and Bai Kesarbai Dharamsay Khakoo Charitable and Religious Trust, ordering them to carry out a structural audit of the structure.

A month later, the BMC learnt that the building was actually a cessed building of Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA), over which it had no jurisdiction.

Accordingly, on August 7, 2017, the BMC wrote to the Executive Engineer, Mumbai Building Repairs & Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) of MHADA, to take appropriate measures as per the high court orders (above) to prevent any loss of life. “In essence, the BMC had also washed its hands off the matter saying that it would not be responsible for any mishap involving Kesarbai Building,” Shaikh said.

Sheikh, who is associated with NGO Adhikar Foundation, had on July 2 written to BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi seeking immediate steps to demolish the 499 “dangerous” buildings in the city. Nearly a fortnight later, the rear illegal portion of the Kesarbai Building 25/C crashed, creating a furore in the city.