DNA Rain Check: Demolished structure on BMC's dangerous buildings list

Although a commercial dilapidated structure owned by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Masjid, South Mumbai was demolished early this year, the BMC's list of dilapidated buildings as part of pre-monsoon preparations mentions it to be still standing.

A visit to the site confirmed that a new building is already being built in place of the old one. The site, situated in a narrow lane along Kehawji Naik Road in Bhat Bazar near Masjid station, was being used for commercial purposes before it was demolished.

Udaykumar Shiroorkar, the assistant commissioner of B ward, said that the construction of a new building is underway and they had already reported this to the central agency of BMC. Ground floor work of the building has already been completed and upper floors are being done now, he added.

Every year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issues a list of dilapidated buildings in the city as preparatory work for monsoons. These buildings are private buildings, owned by MHADA and BMC. The civic body identifies buildings which are in poor condition and accordingly put them in different categories namely C1, C2 and C3 as per the condition of the building with C1 being the most dangerous and so on.

Nidhi Chaudhari, deputy municipal commissioner (Special) said that a total of 174 dilapidated buildings are under litigation and they were included in the list.

"We have already vacated 72 buildings and 41 are with the technical advisory committee (TAC)," she said. She added that there is a need to make a separate list of these buildings to avoid the repetition of such mistakes.