Residents stay put in ‘dangerous buildings’, demand relocation closer to Bhendi Bazaar

She adds, “How will I commute from Chunabhatti? How will I earn?” Following the Husaini Manzil collapse, over 20 families have already been moved out by SBUT, a public charitable trust handling the cluster redevelopment project in Bhendi Bazaar. Two families in dilapidated Nandvilas building will be evicted next Monday. After the Chunabhatti flats are full, residents will be moved to Karjat and Neral.

“It is sad that it takes an unfortunate incident like this for the tenants to appreciate the gravity of the situation. Families are now showing the willingness to accept our offer and move to transit accommodation,” SBUT spokesperson said.

“I am moving out with my mother because everybody is vacating. We had no alternative. I did not get time to read temporary alternate accommodation agreement because we were made to sign it immediately,” said Arif Iqbal, who resides on the first floor of Nandvilas, adding that SBUT gave no timeline for the redevelopment. Iqbal is getting a 250 square feet flat in transit camp as opposed to the current 147 square feet studio flat. His wife and three children shifted to Mumbra a day after Husaini building collapsed.

But Ratlamwala may continue to risk her life in the dilapidated building as other families move out. “I want officials to give me a time frame, to tell me which building and area they will move me to after redevelopment. They have no answers,” she said, adding she needs assistance to even take a bath and depends on her brother’s family who lives next door.

Panic stricken residents of Bhendi Bazaar claim they are moving out under pressure, unhappy with existing terms of redevelopment, but not wanting to risk their life in the century-old buildings.

Since redevelopment began, over 1,800 families have been moved into transit accommodation with free maintenance, water supply and electricity up to Rs 1,600. Construction of phase I is underway and is expected to be completed by 2019.

The 16.5 acre historic Bhendi Bazaar area has 281 cessed buildings that are at least 80 years old, data from MHADA shows. Of 1,800 families rehabilitated by SBUT since 2010, estimated figures indicate that over 1,000 families have been moved to Anjeer Wadi and 600 to Gorakhdev near Mazgaon while 200 have been moved to Chunabatti tenements.

“We plan to bring back over 600 families by 2019. Demolition of buildings and shifting of tenants from other sub-clusters to transit accommodation is also being carried on simultaneously,” SBUT spokesperson said.

Mohammed Engineer, who owns a tailoring shop since 45 years in Mariam Manzil, says there is uncertainty whether after redevelopment they will retain a ground floor shop. “We cannot give away a shop in prime location not knowing where we will be accommodated,” Engineer said. He owns a 328 square feet shop.

“The project is a good initiative on paper. We have only been told verbally that we’ll get 115 square feet extra but there is lack of proper documentation,” his brother Murtaza Engineer adds.

Polio-affected Fatema Jaffer resides on the second floor of Bootwala building, near the now collapsed Husaini Manzil. Her family has been asking for a transit camp accommodation near Bhendi Bazaar, but in vain. Her father suffers from cancer, while she is bed-bound and the five-member family claims Chunabatti, 40 minutes away, is too far to continue treatment for both of them.

Murtaza Tinwala, who was evicted in 2015 under Section 95 (A) of MHADA Act from Sardhariya building under phase I, says several residents also want to avail incentive as per amended Development Control Rules (DCR). “SBUT is denying us the actual benefit of redevelopment in carpet area and land conveyance,” Tinwala alleges, adding that SBUT should have rehabilitated tenants within three years of signing agreements. “But they have failed to provide alternate arrangements for everyone in the radius of two kilometers of the project, specially those in dilapidated structures,” he said.
Responding to implementation of provisions of the DCR, SBUT said that the project has complied with “applicable provisions of regulation 33(9) of DCR”. “The government requires the minimum floor area for new units to be 300 square feet, but since this is an upliftment project we are providing minimum 350 square feet area,” SBUT spokesperson said, adding that agreements executed at the time of shifting has details of the existing tenement including name, address, present area occupied and area to be allotted in the project.