DANGEROUS BUILDINGS COME UNDER THE SCANNER

VIBHA SINGH highlights the dangers involved when it comes to staying in buildings that are older than 60 years and urges the tenants residing in them, to relocate at the earliest, by bringing in the government officials into the picture

Esplanade building, a heritage structure, and Botawala Chawl at Mazgaon, are in a decrepit state due to lack of repairs. These two buildings have featured on the list of cessed buildings for the last five years and no repair has been done. Officials said that these buildings have been identified as old for several years and that they have now prepared a plan to evacuate the residents from these buildings before the monsoons.
    The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority chairman, Prasa Lal has written to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, requesting the use of special powers to evict the 683 tenants from the 16 unsafe buildings. Out of these, the developers have provided alternate accommodation for 117 residential and 27 non-residential premises. "There is no point in the exercise if people do not pay heed to the notice. The government should permit us to use special powers to forcibly evict the tenants," says Lal in his letter. Officials of the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board informs that of the 683 tenants living in these 16 buildings, 144 have relocated to transit camps and eviction notices will be sent again to the remaining tenants.
    The Mumbai Repair Board of the MHADA, announces the list of unsafe buildings every year before the monsoons and conducts a survey of buildings in the city. According to the survey, wards like A, B and C have four to six storeyed buildings, constructed 100-125 years ago. "Roads and lanes are narrow, sewage and garbage disposal systems have completely collapsed, leading to unhygienic conditions," the survey added. Repair Board chief executive officer, Mohan Thombre, stated that residents of these buildings refuse to vacate the premises and ignore the Repair Board notices. Thombre, added, "The tenants should be concerned about their lives and relocate to transit camps. It is the only safeguard against collapses we can offer."
    Also, a recent study by the Mumbai Transformation Support Unit had revealed that merely eight per cent of the 16,000-odd cessed buildings in the city, have been redeveloped since 1999. Most residents of old buildings are tenants paying nominal rents of Rs 30 to 150 to landlords. Since, the rents are low, frozen at 1942 rates under the Rent Control Act, landlords claim to have no funds to repair these buildings or even maintain them. Zero maintenance, coupled with typical old wooden framework means these buildings are dangerous to live in. Residents have made internal changes, even structural ones that weaken the buildings. So, every year, the MHADA runs through an exercise to determine Grade I, II and III danger for the three categories: pre-1940, 1940 to 1950 and post 1950 construction. The old buildings become unfit for habitation as a result of neglect of normal repairs; buildings reach a dilapidated state after routine repairs have been neglected consistently over a period of time. This neglect can pose an immediate threat to the occupants and can eventually lead to the structural weakening of the whole building. Widening cracks in the wall, a low creaking sound from wooden beams or posts, progressively obvious sagging of beams, may constitute an early indication of loss of structural integrity. Dampness is another factor that can lead to serious problems in buildings. A damp patch is usually noticed near the water closet and bathroom area.
    The BMC officials inspect what they can and declare a building safe or unsafe depending on visual inspection. "There is no machinery in the world to do a comprehensive inspection of wooden structures," claims a MHADA source. "We know of machines that do an ultrasound check of RCC structures but we have to rely on visual inspection, mostly from the outside of the building. How do we assess the strength of the foundation?" says the source.
    Activists say the civic administration should have a long-term plan in place, as against carrying out demolition drives before the monsoon. "There is no system in place to carry out structural stability checks of old buildings routinely. A mechanism for year-long structural audits should be developed," points out Rajkumar Sharma, a civic activist. He adds that not just old buildings but buildings built 30 or 40 years back, should also be checked on a regular basis. Repair Board chief officer, Mahendra Varbhuvan has appealed to the tenants to contact its control room if they observe any cracks, cracks widening, concrete falling or any such complaints. The control room is operational 24X7. The Mhada Control Room, Rajani Mahal Tardeo: 2353 6945, 2351 7423
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THERE IS NO SYSTEM IN PLACE TO CARRY OUT STRUCTURAL STABILITY CHECKS OF OLD BUILDINGS ROUTINELY. A MECHANISM FOR YEAR-LONG STRUCTURAL AUDITS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED.
ROADS AND LANES ARE NARROW, SEWAGE AND GARBAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS HAVE COMPLETELY COLLAPSED, LEADING TO UNHYGIENIC CONDITIONS.