4 Lakh Mumbai Residents Still Living in Unsafe Buildings

A commission constituted by the Bombay High Court has issued a severe warning about the state of Mumbai’s ageing cessed buildings, calling it a “miracle” that almost four lakh residents continue to live in structurally dangerous structures awaiting reconstruction.

According to the panel assessment, 12,552 cessed structures in the city are in varying states of decay, with many in serious disrepair. Despite being designated as unsafe, these buildings continue to shelter thousands of people because to ongoing legal battles, postponed redevelopment plans, and a severe shortage of rehabilitative housing.

According to the data, approximately four lakh tenants currently live in these facilities, many of which are deemed physically deficient. The report also stated that redevelopment delays have caused families to live in hazardous situations with little options.

The concerns were underlined further during field inspections, when committee members narrowly avoided injury after a huge cement block weighing roughly 50 kg fell from a stairway shortly after passing through one of the assessed buildings. Several structures visited by the panel appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

A key worry raised in the report is the lack of transit accommodations. While the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has around 20,400 transit tenements, only roughly 500 are currently available to displaced people awaiting rehabilitation.

The special group, which included retired Justice J P Devadhar and former Principal District Judge Vilas Dongre, was formed to analyze the state of cessed structures, identify redevelopment impediments, and review available rehabilitation infrastructure.

The study also includes several complaints about redevelopment projects being delayed for years owing to landlord disputes, ownership concerns, and litigation. In several cases, tenants claimed that landlords failed to make repairs or collect rent for more than a decade, leaving buildings abandoned and in dangerous condition.

MHADA reportedly issued 935 notices under Section 79-A of the MHADA Act to speed redevelopment, however many plans are still stalled owing to procedural delays and legal battles.

Activist Jeetendra Ghadge called the findings a “eye-opener” and advocated for immediate legal reforms. Urban planners also emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity, greater self-redevelopment frameworks, and transparent pricing mechanisms in order to accelerate redevelopment and reduce risk for inhabitants.