Mumbai: The Repair and Reconstruction board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has set up a 24×7 control room for the seven dilapidated, cessed buildings which were declared as extremely dangerous in a recent pre-monsoon survey. The control room will be located in Tardeo’s Rajani Mahal building to keep a close watch on such buildings so that authorities can take immediate action in case of eventualities.
Officials said they had managed to vacate at least 286 families from these seven buildings. “These buildings are at least 50-years-old and we are in the process of sending notices to at least 117 families to vacate the premises,” said a MHADA official.
There are at least 14,286 cessed buildings which fall under MHADA’s repair and reconstruction board. Of these buildings, at least 12,029 buildings are located in A-ward.
The board has also issued several guidelines for the residents of these buildings ahead of the monsoon, one of which states that the dilapidated structures or areas marked unsafe not be occupied, with immediate effect. “We have also requested shop owners to evacuate as soon as notices are served to them,” the official said.
The guidelines also state that persons needing temporary accommodation in transit camps are required to write to the concerned presiding engineer. “We shall process their application at the earliest,” added the official.
Officials have also requested that residents of dangerous or dilapidated buildings cooperate with authorities for works including the razing of dilapidated structures, providing metal support to buildings or for carrying out other maintenance work.
Residents have been told to inform the housing authority or contact the concerned BMC ward office if they detect cracks in buildings, falling plaster or ceilings, deepening or increase in existing cracks and cave-ins.