Building collapse: Focus on illegal constructions in eco-sensitive zone in Vasai-Virar

According to local authorities, notices were also sent to the builders. However, they didn’t respond. Meanwhile, hours after the incident, the builder was booked by the authorities under the Mumbai Regional Town Planning Act.

Vasai-Virar’s prolonged issue of illegal constructions

In the past one year, at least six cases of illegal building collapse were reported in the Vasai-Virar area–which is located just at the north of the country’s financial capital—yet the district is crippled with civic apathy.

On August 13, the ED arrested IAS officer and former commissioner of VVMC–Anil Kumar Khanderao Pawar, YS Reddy, Deputy Director Town Planning in the corporation and Sitaram Gupta, former corporator of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) over a money laundering case that was linked to 41 illegally constructed building at Vasai Virar. All these 41 buildings were constructed during the 2010s on public land parcels that were meant for civic amenities. In March this year, all these buildings were demolished by the authorities.

Of the 60 acres on which the buildings were erected, nearly 30 acres were reserved for a sewage treatment plant and dumping ground. The remaining patch was private land, allegedly grabbed by a former corporator and his accomplices.

Why so many illegal constructions?

Locals and activists state that over the past two decades, haphazard construction has become so rampant that it has threatened the overall geology and topography of the area.

The Vasai and Virar were largely an agrarian belt till the middle of 2000s. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) was formed in 1995 and starting in the early 2000, they started demolishing unauthorised slums in Mumbai in order to transform them into vertical housing units. During that time, the larger area of Vasai and Virar were agrarian lands comprising paddy fields, mangrove belts and salt pan lands. Local farmers would cultivate rice, banana and beetle leaf on these lands.

The Vasai and Virar were later merged into an agglomeration in 2010 when the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) was formed. Meanwhile, the demolition of slums in Mumbai led to a real estate boom, forcing lower income groups (LIG) to settle in Nalasopara, Naigaon, Vasai and Virar at the west and Kalyan Dombivli in the East.

Local resident and activist Yash Marwah said this real estate boom in Mumbai resulted in housing prices going up exponentially. Following this, members from the middle-class started looking for houses outside the MMR region.

“In the early 2000s, private builders started taking over the agrarian land in Vasai-Virar region and large chunks of mangroves were gone. In exchange for money, they gave away their lands which led to a real estate boom over here,” Marwah told the Indian Express.

“In Mumbai, the average price of a house is Rs 1 crore while at the satellite region one can get houses for Rs 30-40 lakh. This lower price of houses in this region generated a demand for housing among the LIGs and middle class,” Marwah said.

The activists also alleged that most of them don’t even have NOCs from the local municipal corporation, yet they are getting daily civic amenities like water and sewage services.

“The building which collapsed on Thursday was located at Narangi Phatak. That place was earlier a vast green patch. Today, the entire area comprises housing units made illegally. The construction works were so rampant and fast that in less than a decade so many buildings came up in the entire area. When the construction work was going on, nobody from the administration raised their voice or issued a notice. Had they acted on time, this wouldn’t have happened,” Shashikant Sonawane, a local resident told the Indian Express.

Sonawane said the entire Narangi Phatak area was a paddy field till the 2010s where rice cultivation would take place. Later, huts were constructed on them which were later converted to four or five-storey buildings by local builders. He added that a similar model was followed across the Vasai Virar belt.

“I have written multiple letters, filed petitions with the VVMC as well as the state government to inspect land grabbing and illegal encroachment on eco sensitive zones. But till date, not much has happened. If this continues to happen, the entire Vasai-Virar area will face major geological wrath in the days to come,” he added.

Illegal construction–threat to geology

Meanwhile, scientists told Express that the collapse of the building is just the brink of the problem as the real issue lies in haphazard construction work and land-grabbing. Geologist and local resident Sameer Deshmukh said, “All the buildings that have collapsed were in a poor condition and built during 2010-2015. These were built by reclaiming low lying areas, which otherwise served as flood plains. These kinds of ground are not suitable for heavy construction. As a result, most of these buildings don’t have a strong foundation and during heavy rain, their base weakens eventually leading to their collapse.”

“Due to the reclamation of low-lying areas, all the tidal zones are gone, and no adequate room is left for drainage of rainwater. This is going to be a major hazard in the next 10 years,” he added.

When contacted, an official told the Indian Express that the reason why action couldn’t be taken against most of the settlements because these lands on which they are built were taken into possession before the VVMC was formed in 2010. “Since many of them were occupied illegally, there was no documentation process earlier. After the VVMC was formed, many of them had their structures legalised through the usage of water and sewage bills. Therefore, many illegal properties were left unmarked, and they continued to inhabit residents,” the official said.