Mumbai: The residents of Ratilal Mansion in Girgaum informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday that they have decided to go ahead with the redevelopment of their building through a third party developer and not through Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
Asking the residents to be cautious, a bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale said, “Last thing we want to happen is some irregularity.” The judges sounded a word of caution since the redevelopment of the building has been stalled since a decade as the earlier developer became insolvent. Even during the last hearing, the HC had asked the tenants to be “extremely cautious” and take an “informed decision” on appointing a new developer.
Residents keen to develop through a developer: Advocate of residents
When the judges once again expressed their concern, the advocate for the residents said, “I appreciate your lord’s conundrum but I have explained the risks and consequences to the residents but they are keen to develop through a developer.”
Noting that it was “a horrible situation”, the bench said, “Covid may have made the situation worse”. It added that authorities like MHADA and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) were receiving several cases where there are huge “demands for unpaid transit rents” and “deteriorating transit accommodations”.
MHADA report
MHADA had earlier submitted a structural audit report which said the unfinished building requires repairs and is not required to be demolished. It also said it is willing to take over the project. The bench asked the advocate for the tenants to consult counsels for MHADA and the BMC in case the society faces any administrative hurdles.
The court had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the plight of tenants of cessed buildings where redevelopment is halted. The HC was hearing a petition by 44 tenants of Ratilal Mansion who are out of their homes since 2013 and are not paid transit rent.
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