Mumbai's residents resigned to living in dangerous buildings

Corruption, negligence and outdated laws have all contributed to the troubled housing situation in Mumbai and its surroundings, where six major building collapses have killed more than 160 people in recent months.

The top two storeys have already been torn down and workmen with sledgehammers are hacking at what is left, but at Mumbai’s Botawala Chawl apartment complex four families refuse to leave. Indranil Mukherjee / AFPShow less

MUMBAI // The top two storeys have already been torn down and workmen with sledgehammers are hacking at what is left, but at Mumbai’s Botawala Chawl apartment complex four families refuse to leave.

They are among many in the Indian city stuck in dilapidated or poorly built structures, whose plight was highlighted last month when a residential block came crashing down, killing 60 people sleeping inside.

“The builders haven’t given us anything in writing,” said 57-year-old tenant RK Tiwari, who has verbally been promised an apartment in a replacement high-rise block.

“As long as we don’t get anything on paper, we won’t move.”

Her dilemma is among complex reasons why people continue to live in dangerous buildings in India’s densely populated financial capital, where land and affordable housing are scarce.

Corruption, negligence and outdated laws have all contributed to the troubled housing situation in Mumbai and its surroundings, where six major building collapses in recent months have killed more than 160 people.

While a heavy monsoon has exacerbated the problems, poor maintenance and shoddy construction have been highlighted. Experts say rogue developers are cashing in on the desperate need for cheap housing.

AFP first visited the century-old, three-storey Botawala Chawl in south-east Mumbai in 2005 after officials declared it among about 30 “extremely dangerous” buildings that would have to be vacated within a week. Eight years later, Ms Tiwari is still there, the ceilings of her home starting to buckle.

She lives near a five-storey building owned by the civic government, providing accommodation to its employees, that tumbled to the ground on September 27, killing 60 of more than 90 people inside.

The 30-year-old block had earlier been found unsafe and in urgent need of repairs.

Ms Tiwari would rather risk her home falling down than voluntarily give it up with no guarantees — possibly to be stuck in one of the so-called “transit camps” that house thousands of people while their homes are rebuilt.

“They have heard several stories of people leaving, getting accommodation in transit camps and the redevelopment never happening,” said Ashutosh Limaye, head of research at Jones Lang Lasalle India, a property consultancy.

A recent survey by the municipal government found 959 dilapidated buildings in the city — although some say the real figure is likely much higher — while more than half of Mumbai’s population of over 18 million people is said to live in slums. Yet around 40,000 apartments lie empty, priced out of reach of most people, according to Mahesh Khalap, strategic consultant at Jones Lang Lasalle.

In April, an illegal multi-storey building collapsed in Mumbai’s neighbouring district of Thane, killing 74. In June, three buildings came crashing down in Mumbai and Thane killing 27, including 10 at the Altaf Manzil apartment block in the city centre.

“I feel like crying every time I see this,” said Amy Patel, 72, looking at the remains of Altaf Manzil from her next-door residential block — itself more than 80 years old.

She and her family have decided to move out while the landlord rebuilds their home. The family pays 500 rupees ($8) a month in rent — but the strict controls on rental hikes mean landlords have little impetus to pay for maintenance.