Tilted bldgs fail to appear on civic `dangerous' list

MUMBAI: If you happen to be living in a tilted building in Mira Road or Bhayander, then it is not necessarily a dangerous one. At least that is what Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) seems to believe.
When the MBMC brought out its list of 45 dangerous buildings last month, Akash Nayak a resident of Mangal Nagar E and F in Mira Road thought his house would be one of them.However, there was no mention of his building, despite it being tilted. In fact, none of the houses that have tilted or sunk, is mentioned in the `too dangerous to occupy' category.
The MBMC has sent out notices to occupants of the 45 buildings they have picked up, asking them to vacate before monsoon. The civic body has also sought the help of the police in case the occupants need to be evicted forcibly.
However, the municipality seems not to be bothered about the tilted buildings--at least half a dozen are there--in Mira Road. Last year, the second floor slab of the Shiv Jyot building at RNP Park in Bhayander (East) collapsed, but the building has never been categorised as a dangerous structure.
"I fail to understand the definition of a dangerous structure. Most of the flats in my building have developed massive cracks. I have brought it to the notice of the MBMC but in vain.'' The builder, Deepak Bosmiya, however, insists that the building is safe to live in. "Most of the flat owners have taken their money and vacated the building. Nayak's claim of it being a dangerous building is too unrealistic,'' said Bosmiya. Nayak, however, says the money that the builder is offering will not fetch him another flat and will leave him and his family roofless.
Nayak even met the municipal commissioner Shivmurti Naik who simply asked him to settle his dispute with the builder. Naik was not available for comments.
Most of the dangerous buildings identified by the MBMC are in Bhayander (East) where 28 structures, occupied by families, will be pulled down. In Bhayander (West), there are 11 buildings that are too dangerous to be occupied. In Mira Road and Kashimira, six buildings have the risk of collapsing this monsoon. Says Janata Dal corporator from Bhayander Milind Mhatre, "The list of dangerous buildings may be out, but the corporation is yet to take action regarding eviction of the residents or demolition of the structures.''
Last year, too, the MBMC brought out a list of 46 buildings that were dangerous for living. And interestingly, most of those buildings figure in this year's list as well.
With most of the dangerous buildings being old structures whose land ownership rights are with the builders, the occupants are caught in a knot. While the MBMC wants the occupants to move out of the buildings, they do not have infrastructure to rehabilitate them. The occupants, too, do not have the funds to shift to rented apartments.