Mumbai: Esplanade Mansion tenants look to bring down dilapidated parts, approach court

Days after balcony of the Grade II A heritage building, Esplanade Mansion collapsed, the tenants decided to pull down parts that are dilapidated and cannot be repaired. Following the balcony collapse, tenants had insisted that the structure was safe even though authorities had cut the electric supply of the building.

Esplanade Mansion, formerly known as Watson Hotel is now part of the precinct that was given the UNESCO heritage tag.

Rishi Gupta, a tenant of the building said, "The dangerous portions of the building are a problem. So we are looking to have them removed because they can collapse anytime."

"We have hired a contractor from the panel of MHADA contractors. They have started the work on Tuesday, and in two to three days they will be removing all parts of the building that are not in dilapidated," said Mehmood Golaftab, one of the tenants of the building.

Advocate Ashok Sarogi, another tenant who has moved out of the building and is representing the case for tenants, said, "I will be moving the court seeking directions to BMC to grant us NOC for carrying out repairs. The matter is likely to be heard on Wednesday."

D K Jagdale, Chief Officer, Mumbai Repair, and Reconstruction Board, said "The building landlord was issued a NOC from our end, we will be presenting our side to the court and also shall be mentioning certain conditions in it. They do not need our permission to carry out repairs or demolition."