Maha: Bill passed for redevelopment of dilapidated buildings in Mumbai

Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) In a major push to expedite the long-delayed redevelopment of old and dilapidated cessed buildings in Mumbai, the state government has passed an amendment bill to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act (MHADA Act).

The state legislature approved the bill. This amendment aims to resolve the legal ambiguities that had prompted the Bombay High Court to stay the implementation of Section 79A.

Under the new provisions, the controversial term “Competent Authority” has been replaced with a clear clause empowering officers specifically authorised by MHADA to exercise powers under Section 79A.

The legislative correction comes nearly a year after the Bombay High Court stayed approximately 935 notices issued by MHADA under Section 79A, observing that the powers might have been exercised without proper legal authorisation.

Mumbai has over 13,000 cessed buildings, many of which date back before 1940 and house lakhs of families. For decades, their redevelopment has been stuck due to landlord-tenant disputes, protracted litigation, and the reluctance of certain owners to redevelop structures in dangerous conditions.

Sections 79A and 79B were originally introduced into the MHADA Act in 2020 following a string of fatal collapses, including the Husaini Building collapse in 2017 (33 deaths), the Dongri collapse in 2019 (14 deaths), and the Fort building collapse in 2020 (10 deaths).

The law empowered MHADA to intervene if landlords failed to redevelop dilapidated structures, and allowed tenants to take over the project themselves if they secured 51 per cent consent.

According to Right to Information (RTI) data obtained by social activist Jitendra Ghadge, Mumbai witnessed 345 incidents of full or partial building collapses between 2021 and August 2025, resulting in 8 deaths and 28 injuries.

Furthermore, MHADA records show that between 1970 and 2018, building collapses claimed 815 lives, a stark reminder of the heavy human cost attached to stalled redevelopment projects.

–IANS

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