Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Tuesday in the Assembly that the state government would protect the rights of tenants from dilapidated buildings and extend the right to them for re-development. He said that changes would be made in the BMC Act to give the rights to the tenants.
“The tenants will get the right to redevelop the old, dilapidated buildings. We are going to amend the BMC Act for this. It will be mandatory to redevelop the building within stipulated time of one year,” the CM said. He then added, “The tenants can take up the redevelopment if owner fails to do so.”
The issue was raised in the House by all party MLAs regarding dilapidated buildings in Mumbai city. The BMC has sent eviction notices to a few hundred buildings as they are dilapidated. The tenants are ready to vacate but have no guarantee of redevelopment, the MLAs said.
Buildings that have been rented out come under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act while the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act is applicable while serving an eviction notice and discontinuing basic amenities for a building that is unfit for rehabilitation. However, the decision by the government will help thousands of tenants in the city to redevelop their buildings.
The dilapidated buildings are usually given notices in the pre-monsoon period to avoid accidents. However, tenants have been reluctant to vacate the buildings as they are apprehensive about the redevelopment process.
