Lessons learnt from building collapses: Tinkering can bring 'dilapidated' tag

Learning its lessons from the Mahim building collapse, which claimed 10 lives, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to deal with complaints pertaining to unauthorised alterations to buildings, especially to those below 30 years in age, strictly.

Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte has instructed his staff to prosecute owners/occupants engaged in illegal alterations to structures at the time of issuing occupancy certificates (OCs).

According to sources, the BMC is also planning to declare a building ‘dilapidated’ if major changes are found in a structure based on complaints.

Kunte said, “Even as we deal with regular complaints on illegal alterations, I have asked officials to look into complaints of illegal modifications in structures less than 30 years old seriously. If anyone is found responsible for damage to columns/beams of any crucial portion of a building, s/he will be taken to task.”

Altaf Mansion in Mahim collapsed on June 10. While the municipal corporation is yet to technically ascertain the reasons behind its fall, whether its weak basement triggered it or the quality of material used in construction, the collapse has worried municipal authorities as the building wasn’t even 30 years old.

According to an amendment to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, a building must be structurally audited if it is more than 30 years old, which is considered as an average age beyond which buildings start weakening.

According to another civic official, a building less than 30 years old would also include ones under construction, which are yet to procure an OC but have received primary clearances from the BMC.

The civic body, as per relevant provisions of the MMC Act and the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, serves notices to owners/occupants of buildings where modifications are found. The structure is then required to be restored to the original plan within 30 days. If that doesn’t happen, the civic body can initiate proceedings to prosecute the people concerned.

“The MRTP Act recommends imprisonment in such cases. The period of imprisonment depends on the extent of alterations made,” a civic official said.