The residents, however, have been defiant of eviction orders and want to redevelop the buildings instead.
The residents of Chembur Colony (in Chembur East) have set an example for all the wrong reasons. Despite being issued several eviction notices, the residents have been adamant about residing in the "extremely dilapidated" structures. In the MS building colony, there are 34 buildings, of which 16 have been enlisted as "most dangerous", running highest risk of collapsing during rains.
The residents, however, have been defiant of eviction orders and want to redevelop the buildings instead.
"We are risking our lives because we do not have any alternative accommodation in Mumbai. There are internal disputes among residents over re-development, which we trying to solve, but we won't shift from here," said Mohit Sejpal, a resident of MS building number 12 of Chembur colony.
"We are getting eviction notices for the past 15 years. We pushed for structural repair in 1990, but it remained half done. We recently learned that these buildings, which are on collector land, will be freed and a gazette notification will be issued in six months. Now we are waiting for that," the resident added.
Every building in the colony is two storeyed, with 36 flats in each. More than 2000 people reside in these dangerous buildings.
The buildings that have been designated as extremely dilapidated are: MS building 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 25, 28, 31, 33, and 34. Some of these buildings have been repaired from the outside, but are structurally weak from within. Many buildings have the cracks filled up as a temporary measure. Many of these cracks are so big and old, that trees have grown out of them, making the structure further weak and collapse-prone.
However, civic officials from M-West ward, said, "The buildings are on collector land and the collector office is responsible for eviction, demolition, etc. As a civic body we have the buildings on our list as extremely dilapidated buildings, which need immediate demolition. We have communicated this to the collector office and they are responsible for further action. Most of these 16 buildings have people staying, who are adamant to not vacate."
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