Campa Cola is now a divided house

Two days after the Supreme Court allowed residents of the disputed buildings in Worli’s Campa Cola compound to approach the civic body to regularise the structures, the residents are divided on how to proceed in the matter.

Till last week, the owners of 102 flats on the floors that are to be demolished had planned to get 83 of the flats regularised by the civic body and compensate the owners of the remaining 19 flats. Now, spurred by the SC order, some of these 19 flat owners are trying all over again to save their flats.

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is firm that it will undertake the demolition of the illegal floors in the seven buildings by the deadline next month, some of the 19 flat owners say they could retain their flats if the owners of each of the 102 flats gave up a small area.

However, the managing committee of the building societies are tight-lipped on what the application for regularisation will be and when it will be submitted to the civic authorities. “The managing committee was trying to work out a formula and had come to some sort of an agreement that would compensate 19 flat owners, so they could purchase new apartments in the area. They were to get about Rs25,000 a sq ft,” said a resident, who requested anonymity.

Some residents had filed a special leave petition in the SC last week and on Wednesday a special bench of judges GS Singhvi and V Gopapa Gowda allowed them to approach the BMC for regularisation of the structures under the permissible floor space index.

The seven high-rise buildings were constructed between 1981 and 1989. While the builders were granted permission for ground-plus-five floors, some of the constructions were built with extra floors. The buildings are Midtown Apartments (20 floors), Esha Ekta Apartments (8), Shubh Apartments (7), Patel Apartments (two buildings, 6 floors each), BY Apartments (6), and Orchid (17).

Under the Coastal Regulatory Zone rules in force at the time, the illegal built-up area totalled to about 91,000 sq ft. According to the plan worked out by the residents, they proposed to compensate 19 flat owners, forgoing about 24,000 sq ft, if the BMC agreed to regularise the remainder about 67,000 sq ft of the 83 flats.

“The stalemate would land all the residents in trouble, as no one wants to budge,” a resident said.