Monsoon Alarm In Bhiwandi: 1,790 Dangerous Buildings Put Thousands At Risk, 227 Face Imminent Collapse

Bhiwandi: With the monsoon intensifying, Bhiwandi's long-standing crisis of dilapidated buildings has reached alarming proportions. The Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) has identified 1790 buildings as dangerous this year including 227 structures classified under the C-1 category which are considered extremely hazardous and vulnerable to collapse at any moment. Despite the grave risk thousands of families continue to occupy these buildings due to the lack of alternative housing, exposing them to potential tragedy with every spell of heavy rain.

The list of unsafe structures includes residential buildings old tiled houses, and powerloom units spread across the city. While the civic administration has issued precautionary notices ahead of the monsoon, concerns remain over the slow pace of evacuation and demolition raising serious questions about public safety and administrative accountability.

As part of its annual monsoon preparedness exercise, the municipal corporation has served notices to owners and occupants of all identified dangerous buildings. However, residents allege that the exercise rarely progresses beyond paperwork. In many cases, families continue to live inside structurally unsafe buildings because they have nowhere else to relocate.

The recurring pattern has drawn criticism, with civic activists questioning whether issuing notices alone is sufficient when thousands of lives remain at risk.

Municipal officials admit that the demolition of dangerous structures often gets delayed due to multiple challenges. Political interference, disputes between landlords and tenants under the traditional pagdi system, and complications involving unauthorised constructions have made evacuation drives difficult.

As a result, several buildings that have already been declared unsafe continue to remain occupied despite repeated warnings from the civic body.

Taking serious note of the situation Municipal Commissioner Anmol Sagar recently chaired a review meeting with assistant commissioners of all five ward committees. He directed officials to expedite the evacuation and demolition of buildings classified under the C-1 category before the monsoon reaches its peak.

Following these directions, demolition of one dangerous building has already commenced in Ward Committee No.5 while officials have been instructed to accelerate similar action across the city.

The growing number of dangerous buildings has become a matter of concern for the civic administration. Last year, 1444 buildings were declared unsafe, of which 69 structures were demolished according to BNMC records.

Despite those demolitions, the number has increased significantly to 1790 buildings this year highlighting the worsening condition of ageing structures and the urgent need for long-term urban renewal and redevelopment.

According to City Development Officer Sameer Javare the civic survey has classified the buildings into different structural risk categories.

A total of 227 buildings fall under the C-1 category requiring immediate evacuation and demolition due to their extremely dangerous condition.

Another 813 buildings are classified as C-2A  which must be vacated before undergoing major structural repairs.

516 buildings fall under the C-2B category  where repairs can be undertaken while residents continue occupying the premises, whereas 221 buildings have been placed under the C-3 category requiring only routine structural repairs.

The ward-wise distribution of dangerous buildings reveals the widespread nature of the crisis across Bhiwandi.

Ward Committee No. 1 has 168 dangerous buildings, Ward No. 2 has 446 Ward No. 3 has 382 Ward No. 4 has 386 and Ward No. 5 accounts for 410 unsafe structures.

Municipal officials have stated that owners of repairable buildings will be required to submit fresh structural audit reports after completing repairs. Buildings categorised as irreparable will be demolished in a phased manner.

However, with the number of dangerous structures increasing every year, the situation continues to raise a critical question: Can merely issuing notices prevent another building collapse, or is the city in urgent need of decisive enforcement before disaster strikes?

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