Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention for Presidential consent to the amendment to the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority Act,1976, passed in September 2020 in the state legislature to protect the residents of the dilapidated buildings, particularly the cess buildings.
Sawant said that the implementation of the Act is important as it has been observed that even if buildings are in dilapidated conditions, the owners were and are reluctant to redevelop or repair these buildings. In case of certain buildings where the development was in progress, it has been experienced that the developers left the work halfway which causes further delay in getting their rightful living.
Sawant said the amendments provide MHADA to acquire the land and the building and complete the development work which was left in between by the developer. It states that at least 51% of the residents have to agree to the development of their buildings and it provides compensation to the owner of the land/building. It also lays down the procedures and rules for these cess buildings.
“These amendments will protect the lives of the people who are residing in the dilapidated buildings. Nearly 16,000 buildings fall under the category of cess buildings in Mumbai. Some of these buildings are on the lands of Mumbai Port Trust, National Textile Corporation, LIC and other organisations who neither repair nor redevelop these buildings themselves and do not allow even the govt authorities to carry out the redevelopment which are nearly 100 years old,’’ said Sawant.
