Mumbai: The state government has vowed to find an out-of-the-box solution to resolve the issue of old and dilapidated buildings in Mumbai. A meeting will soon be held under the chairmanship of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on this issue, said industries minister Subhash Desai.
In the backdrop of the collapse of Hussaini building at Bhendi Bazaar and heavy rains in the city, Mr Desai — who is also city’s guardian minister — held a review meeting at Mantralaya on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Shiv Sena MLA Ajay Chaudhari and top state officials like Sampada Mehta, city collector; Sumant Bhange, chief officer, Mhada (repair board); and Sanjay Khandare, additional commissioner, MMRDA, among others.
Mr Desai said, “The issue of old buildings in Mumbai has become very grave. There is a need to solve it by taking an ‘out of the box’ decision. A meeting will soon be held under the chairmanship of the chief minister to discuss issues like reconstruction of buildings, cluster redevelopment, repair of buildings, cessed funds etc.”
Mr Chaudhari demanded that housing policy should be finalised at the earliest. “Mhada officials should work towards instilling confidence in the minds of people about their action,” he added.
The collapse of 117-year old building has again brought to the fore the issue of cessed buildings in the city. There are more than 16,000 cessed buildings, which are likely to prove death traps as majority of them are dilapidated conditions.
The state government has already decided to redevelop these buildings under the cluster redevelopment policy.
The Husaini building was declared dangerous by Mhada and notices were issued to residents to vacate the building in 2011. The demolition permission was issued in May 2016. However, some families continued to stay there.
