Civic body in Navi Mumbai declares 475 buildings ‘dangerous’ for living

The civic body usually prepares the list of buildings falling under “hazardous living conditions” before the monsoon. The occupants are appealed to vacate before it collapses and causes loss of life and property.

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has declared 475 buildings as dangerous for occupants and has directed that the structures be audited periodically. There will be a penalty of Rs. 25,000 for failing to carry out structural audits.

The owners or occupants of these “dangerous” marked buildings have also been informed to vacate to avoid any loss of life or property. The penalty if accrued will be collected at the time of collection of annual property tax.

The civic body usually prepares the list of buildings falling under “hazardous living conditions” before the monsoon. The occupants are appealed to vacate before it collapses and causes loss of life and property

Meanwhile, the NMMC has prepared a list of dangerous buildings in the city under section 265 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act (MMCA) after a ward-wise survey was conducted recently. Notices under section 264 of the MMCA have been sent to all the 475 buildings.

As many as 65 buildings across the city fall under the C-1 category (high risk and uninhabitable) which need to be demolished immediately.

As per section 265 (a) of the MMCA, buildings that have been in use for more than 30 years are required to undergo a structural audit by a construction engineer or structural engineer registered with the NMMC. The date when the occupation certificate was issued to the building will be considered during audit.

The civic body will impose Rs 25,000 penalty for not carrying out structural audit and submitting the report in time. NMMC sources said the onus of carrying out the structural audit lies with owners or occupants.

Meanwhile, the NMMC has made available the list of registered structural engineers on its official website for carrying out the structural audit. The audit report has to be submitted with the town planning department before September 30.