Mumbai: The promise of allocating alternative transit homes to the tenants living in the 'most dangerous' buildings located in South Mumbai by the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) seems to have fallen flat. Repair board, an undertaking of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has no such reserve houses in the city as of now and only have a handful of houses that too in Gorai, suburban Mumbai to offer to these tenants informed an official of MHADA. As a result many have shifted on their own.This monsoon the board had declared 23 buildings as the most dangerous in which a total of 507 tenants were living, of which 197 were shifted and only six families were shifted to MHADA's provided shelter. The remaining 391 are yet to move out of these dilapidated structures, according to the latest data with MHADA.Vinod Ghosalkar, Chairman of MBRRB confirmed that tenants have made their accommodation arrangements.
Adding further he asserted, "In July I am (MBRRB) expecting to receive transit housing stock in the city. Meanwhile, the remaining tenants can shift to Gorai." The promise of offering alternative homes nearby was made as these tenants refuse to shift at far off places as the education of their children gets affected. Moreover, many fear that if they leave and shift to another place they may never return. The Free Press Journal had reported how the tussle between MBRRB and Mumbai Board of MHADA has delayed the shifting, as MBRRB is eyeing upon the same set of transit homes reserved for the NM Joshi BDD Chawls’ redevelopment project.
The BDD Chawl redevelopment officials believe that if these houses are given to the repair board their project would get delayed further. The tenants of the most dangerous buildings are usually asked to vacate their homes as a preventive measure before the onset of monsoon, as chances of building collapse and other fatal mishaps are assumed. With the city is already witnessing pre-monsoon showers and monsoon is already around the corner. Despite this, the board is yet to vacate these most dangerous buildings completely.
