Navi Mumbai: Days After Belapur Building Collapse, 61 Residents Of A Nerul Building Evicted

After the building collapse of a Ground plus four building at Shahbaz village in Belapur last week, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) officials are no longer taking chances in getting residents vacated from buildings deemed unfit for living with immediate effect.  On Wednesday, 61 residents were vacated from a dangerous and dilapidated building in Nerul.

The Nerul ward office had given a 24 hours notice on Tuesday and on Wednesday, the building was made to vacate. The operation was jointly conducted by police department and NMMC officials. The residents were then shifted to the rescue shelter at Juinagar.

During the survey that the civic officials conducted, the building was found in a very dangerous state. The entire exterior portion of the building was covered in green algae and the building bore huge cracks. The building was constructed in the year 1992, and the civic administration is checking the legality of the structure.

Engineering department is also looking into the stability of the building to decide if the building needs to be demolished.  “To ensure the Belapur incident is not repeated as per the provisions in the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTP) Act 1966, the occupants were asked to vacate the premises,” said the Municipal Commissioner Kailas Shinde. 

The builder of the building too has been asked to produce relevant documents related to the structure.According to the civic officials, the building consists of 12 flats of which only three has been sold and the remaining are being rented out by the builder.

Meanwhile, the developer and plot owner in the case of Shabaaz building collapse who were booked by NRI Coastal police, are still at large and are yet to be arrested.