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State to forcibly evict people from dangerous buildings

Prakash Mehta says the administration has to take such extreme steps to avoid more deaths

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Prakash Mehta
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Those refusing to vacate rundown structures will soon be dealing with a tougher administration as Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta on Thursday announced that from now, people who do not vacate dilapidated buildings will be forcibly evicted.

“Of the 16,000 cessed buildings in south Mumbai, there are about 3,000 which are dilapidated, unsafe and dangerous. We will first target such crumbling structures for forcible eviction. I will seek a formal directive on this from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis within eight days,” Mehta told DNA.

He added that the eviction will be jointly carried out by the police, the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (Mhada) and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation.

Mehta said the administration has to take such extreme steps to avoid more deaths.

The minister assured evacuees will be sheltered in transit camps at Mahul and Gorai where 25,000 units are currently available.

A government officer, who wished not to be identified, said the summary eviction of occupiers from dilapidated buildings in certain cases is permissible as per section 95A of the Mhada Act, 1976.

“However, this is not enough. The government is therefore considering amendment to the Mhada Act whereby after eviction Mhada can be authorised to rope in developers through tenders for the completion of redevelopment in a time-bound manner and through the deployment of modern technology,’’ he added. Mehta, however, noted that the process of amending Mhada Act 1976 was at a primary stage.

According to the officer, such an amendment is necessary as, at present, Mhada has no powers to redevelop crumbling structures after occupiers are evicted.

According to Gulam Zia, executive director (advisory), Knight Frank India, the root cause of the rot lies in the archaic Rent Control Act which needs an immediate review, if we want to ensure the safety of the occupants of these tenements.

“Many of the old and dilapidated structures in the city are languishing in the absence of a feasibility of redevelopment. Even if a developer offers a package, the redevelopment process may still suffer if a handful of occupants drag their heels for a better deal. But with the clock ticking on them, they should realise it is a matter of life and death, and that a few more square feet may not really be worth it,’’ he noted.

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