More than 13,000 buildings require “continuous repairs” to prevent them from collapsing, according to Indian authorities. Of these, nearly 850 are considered “unsafe and dilapidated.”
Behind the luxurious skyscrapers of Mumbai, India’s financial capital, lie hundreds of dilapidated buildings, occupied by families who would rather risk their lives than pay exorbitant rents.
Every summer, when the monsoon hits the coastal megacity in the west of the country, some of these decrepit colonial-era buildings collapse, often causing deaths.
“It’s like seeing a biscuit crumble after dipping it in tea,” says Vikram Koli, an office worker.
He says he narrowly escaped being killed in July when a four-story building collapsed. One passerby died, four were injured and firefighters had to rescue 13 people trapped inside. An evacuation warning had been issued in June, but residents ignored it.
Three years ago, city officials said the building, which is more than 100 years old and located in the southern Grant Road neighborhood, was in need of renovation.
But owners of such buildings say they cannot afford to invest in them, complaining about restrictive rent control laws that set rents well below market value.
Budget exhausted
More than 13,000 buildings require “continuous repairs” to prevent them from collapsing, said the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), a state agency of which Mumbai is the capital and which manages, among other things, social housing.
Of these, nearly 850 are considered “dangerous and dilapidated”. Mumbai is at the heart of a vast infrastructure project, including the construction of highways, metro lines and bridges.
But the government says its budget for social housing is exhausted, which explains why many tenants are determined to stay in substandard housing.
In a three-storey building in Ghatkopar (centre) classified as “dangerous”, Jayesh Rambhiya rents a small apartment for around 500 rupees (5.34 euros) per month.
He, who grew up in the building, is considering leaving if he were offered compensation, as he would have to pay around ten times more for a similar apartment nearby.
Mumbai has the highest rents in India, with the median rent for a one-room apartment estimated at around 430 euros, according to the Global Property Guide, a website that provides information on residential real estate markets around the world.
Temporary housing full
Municipal authorities are offering temporary “transit accommodation” to people waiting for their homes to be rebuilt, but they are already “nearly” full, said Mhada deputy director Sanjeev Jaiswal.
Conversely, some residents accuse developers of pretending that other buildings are in worse condition than they are, in order to force their tenants to leave.
Near Grant Road, where the four-storey building collapsed in July, is another building of the same height that is also on the list of “dangerous” buildings.
Farida Baja, who runs an animal shelter in the building, was ordered to vacate in June. “It’s a very solid building,” she said, explaining that she has been unable to find new housing.
So the residents resort to legal action to delay the demolition for years. Convinced that the surveyors are wrong, Farida Baja confidently knocks on the condemned walls and says: “I’m not afraid. I know the building is not going to collapse.”
