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Demolish our building, Husaini Tower residents tell BMC

Occupants seek action against builder who has violated all rules. Ask BMC why was he allowed to go scot-free

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There's a part two to Campa Cola. It's playing at Bhendi Bazar. And rest assured, the sequel has more drama and thrill.

After all, how many times have you heard residents of a building asking authorities to demolish their own building?

That's precisely what 60 residents of Husaini Tower, a 25-storey building on 43/45 Raudat Tahera Street in a prime area of Bhendi Bazaar, are asking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

They are furious that the builder has grossly violated all rules while developing the building. There's no occupation certificate (OC), fire safety norms are not being followed and construction has gone beyond the permitted 2,605.79 square metres to about 4,326 square metres, they say.

As if all that's not enough, the BMC expects residents to pay for the extra area, not the developer, say protestors.

Irate residents have put up a huge banner on the building, which sarcastically states, 'Coming Soon Campa Cola Part 2.' The twist in the story is that in part one, the residents were desperately trying to avoid demolition. Part two has a bolder script.

Husaini Tower residents have only one condition before the BMC takes action. They want an explanation from the authorities as to how the developer was allowed to go scot-free. The civic body does not have an answer.
Residents say they have pointed out all these irregularities to the BMC and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) many times before. And guess what!

"Whenever we ask authorities to take action against the builder, they threaten to disconnect our water lines," Murtuza Zoed Engineer, a resident said.

"C ward has not taken our complaints seriously. Even the fire report suggests that the building is a fire hazard. In fact, we want BMC to take action against the building and regularise the legal area. Neither the BMC is taking action, nor are the authorities giving us occupation certificate (OC), so that we can form a society," said Engineer.

Builder Salim Chouhan, an ex-corporator from the area, flatly denies the allegations and says the construction is as per plans approved by MHADA and BMC.

In fact, he says the real issue is that the residents are demanding Rs 2 crore as corpus fund so that they don't have to shell out money for life-long maintenance bills.

"You can check our agreement. Both parties have agreed to the terms and conditions. They are blackmailing me and trying to extort money as they want me to cough up money, so that they can pay up their bills from the interest on the corpus fund," is his counter-allegation.

All the protesting residents are either rehabilitated in a redevelopment scheme or have bought flats from the saleable component of the developed building.

They claim that they have paid all maintenance bills during October 2010-11 and 2011- 12. However, when they wanted to form a society, they realised that the builder has not got the OC and they have been trapped.

"We wanted to form the society. We started official correspondence with the developer. However, it turned out that he has not got the OC from the BMC and the MHADA. Hence we couldn't form a society. That's when we decided to protest," said Engineer.

On OC, Chouhan said that the chief officer of MHADA had to call the residents and ask for the papers to complete the process. The residents were non-cooperative, hence the delay, he says.

Sangita Hasnale, Assistant Commissioner of C ward, has an assurance to the residents. "I have filed a report and have submitted it to the police for court proceedings. The illegal alterations and amalgamations done by flat owners were later rectified by residents themselves. Still, if they have a grievance, I will ask the building and factory department to investigate," Hasnale added.
After the probe, what? Wait for the third part.

Height of irregularities?
The building Husaini Tower is in the centre of a 16.5-acre plot, which is slated to go under cluster development.
It is a ground-plus 25 storey building. First three floors are for stilt parking and the fourth one a service floor
39 flat owners are old tenants from two buildings -- Abid Manzil and Bandukwala .
42 flat-owners have bought flats from the saleable component of the redeveloped project
21 flats on top four floors and the terrace belongs to Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust

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