Mumbai Building Collapse: "Over 80-Year-Old Rubinissa Manzil on Grant Road Was Beyond Repair," Says MHADA

The balcony and a portion of Rubinissa Manzil on Grant Road collapsed Saturday morning. The building was deemed dangerous, and the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) issued notices to tenants and occupants to vacate the premises in June 2024. At least four people were injured, and one person died after portions of the second and third-floor slabs of the ground-plus-four-floor building partially collapsed. Some sections were left hanging precariously after the incident. According to MHADA, Rubinissa Manzil, located on Naushir Bharucha Marg in Grant Road, has a total of 49 occupants, of which 29 are residential and 20 non-residential units.

According to MHADA, the building was beyond repair, and redevelopment was the only viable option. “The building falls under Category A, indicating it is approximately 80 to 100 years old,” said an official from MHADA. The Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board of MHADA had issued a notice to the landlord and owner under Section 79A of the MHADA Act 1976 on May 19, 2023, declaring it dangerous and mandating its redevelopment.

“Section 79A mandates compulsory redevelopment for cessed buildings declared dangerous by MHADA or its repair board. Property owners receiving such notices have three months to initiate redevelopment, after which occupants have an additional six months to propose redevelopment if the owner fails to act,” said the official.

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After six months, MHADA issued another notice under Section 79A of the MHADA Act 1976 on December 26, 2023. Despite two notices, there was no response from the owner regarding the redevelopment of the building, and finally, on June 7, 2024, the MHADA Board issued a notice to vacate the building.

“The building was issued notices under Section 79 of the MHADA Act 1976 after the structure was beyond repairable and the limit of repair was also exceeded,” said the official.

For further repair, MHADA issued a demand of Rs. 1,01,86,960 to the tenant and occupant. However, there was no response from tenants, said the official.

"The building had crossed the PCL (Permissible Ceiling Limit), which is the maximum allowable expenditure for repairs and maintenance. The state government has set this limit at Rs 4,000 per square meter for cessed buildings. Cessed buildings are those maintained and repaired by the Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board of MHADA, with tenants paying a cess to the housing authority.

"This building falls under Category A, meaning it is approximately 80 to 100 years old. Repeated repairs have been carried out on this building, exhausting the repair cess allocated for it. In 2021, MHADA calculated the additional amount needed for repairs and asked the housing society members to deposit the excess amount over the PCL, totaling Rs 1.01 crore. However, there was no response from the tenants," said the official.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Fire Brigade rescued a total of 13 persons, of which 6 were male, 6 female, and one child from the incident site.

While the deceased was identified as Veera Wadia, the injured were identified as Atul Shaha, 55, Nikesh Shaha, 26, Vijay Aanand, 25, and Siddhesh Palija, 30.