On April 4, Dhananjay Kamble’s world went sour. A letter from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told him that the Kurla building his family lived in had been declared unsafe, and they had seven days to vacate. It wasn’t a complete surprise; he had got a similar letter last year, and he and his neighbours had won a reprieve. Now, it was back to square one. And this year it’s worse: his daughter will going into her 10th Standard. “There’s no way I can move to a new home,” he says. “It’s a matter of my daughter’s future.”
Thousands of others are in the same situation. The BMC issued it annual list of unsafe buildings on Thursday, and sent eviction notices to residents of 740 buildings.
Two years ago, residents of buildings 14, 15 and 6 at Vikhroli’s Parksite Colony managed to stop the BMC’s bulldozers from raising their homes. Now the nightmare that has come back. They know their buildings are on the list, but “We haven’t yet received a notice from the BMC,” says Fazal Memon, who has spent his whole life in #14. He wonders why the BMC is targeting just three buildings. “This society has come up at the same time and the BMC has neglected all the buildings.”
After the BMC’s 2014 notice, Parksite’s residents conducted their own structural audit and submitted it to the BMC. Mr Memon says, “The audit clearly showed that while the building was in need of repairs, it wasn’t at risk of collapsing. We are now in the process of repairing the building.” The residents claim it is the BMC’s responsibility to maintain these buildings. “The BMC has not repaired this building in 20 years,” says Bharat Shirke, a resident of #2, which is currently undergoing repairs. “We were told by the BMC that we wouldn’t have to move as long as we do the repairs ourselves.”
Near Parksite, the residents of 80 Tenements (built in 1992) are bewildered that their building is on the list. “It has shocked everyone in the society,” says Sagar Athavale who has lived in Building #1 since he was born. The residents did their own structural audit and are in the process of meeting with the BMC. Rajendra Mayekar, a resident of Building #2, says, “We are not moving from here” The residents suspect that the BMC’s action is ploy to hand the area over to a builder.
At 100 tenements in Kurla, the same suspicion has taken root. Residents have been told they need to evict to allow the BMC to conduct repairs. Dhananjay Kamble, who has lived most of his life here, says the residents want the BMC to provide a better solution. Out of the 55 flats belonging to the BMC, many have been vacant for several years; residents ask why they can’t move into vacant flats temporarily while theirs are being repaired. The BMC refused on the grounds that they may need to demolish the entire structure. In that case, Mr Kamble says, “Let us redevelop these properties. At least that way we will get rent from the builder and can move to nearby localities.”
At BIT Chawl, Chandanwadi, the residents have bowed to the inevitable. Their dilapidated six-building cluster is over a hundred years old. The 681 residents have negotiated with a builder to redevelop the cluster, and they have the BMC’s cooperation. Jude Gomes, a resident, says “While we think that the building is strong, we don’t want to take a chance this monsoon.”
The BMC is providing all the evictees with alternative housing in temporary transit camps in Mahul. Senior municipal officials say that the flats are of the highest quality and have met all the technical standards. “The eviction of residents is not a solution and is carried out only to save lives. The way forward is redevelopment,” municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta told The Hindu.
While many of the evictees agree that the Mahul flats are better than the ones they live in, none of them are pleased at the location. Mr Memon of Parksite says, “When we moved 50 years ago, this place was like Mahul. There was absolutely nothing. Now that this area has improved and has amenities, they want to move us out.” Mr Kamble says. “That place is in the back-of-beyond; there are no schools or medical centres nearby. You have to walk nearly three kilometres before you get a rickshaw.”
Most are unconvinced that that the move will be temporary. Roshan Nerekar, Mr Kamble’s neighbour, says, “They said the same thing to the residents of Kurla garden, some of them were given accommodation in this building. It’s been over seven years and they are still waiting to move back.”
Barring those from BIT Chawl, the evictees are a mix of BMC employees and private residents. The BMC employees do not lack sympathy for the private residents. Vilas Sawant, who lives in 100 tenements and is a BMC employee in the L Ward, acknowledges that as a staffer, he must go where the BMC decides to give him a home, but “I do realise that it is harder for private homeowners as they need to look for alternate arrangements.” Not all of the BMC staffers are as phlegmatic as Mr Sawant. “That place has no basic amenities and it is extremely far from the station,” said an employee who didn’t wish to be named.
Those who chose to stay face a possibly above-average monsoon, and the prospect of the BMC cutting off their electricity and water: a 2014 Bombay High Court ruling permits the BMC to cut water and electricity supply to such buildings to ensure eviction. For Mr Kamble, it’s a no-brainer. His daughter’s exams come first. “In such a crucial year, there’s no way we can shift,” he says. “We would rather face the BMC’s wrath than die in Mahul.”
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
