HC raps BMC over delay in repair of 100-yr-old bldg

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday rapped the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over delays in initiating repair work in DG Chambers, a 100-year-old building in Mumbai’s Fort area that houses the iconic Dwarka Restaurant, saying the delays amounted to “harassment” of citizens.

A division bench of justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata deprecated the practice of various BMC committees issuing directives regarding the building’s repair, causing much harassment to citizens. The court had earlier directed the additional municipal commissioner (city) to respond to a second petition filed by Kamath Brothers, the owners of Dwarka Restaurant, along with other tenants of ground-floor shops in the two-storeyed building on Nagindas Master Road in Kalaghoda.

Several BMC officers – such as assistant engineer (building and factory), assistant engineer (building proposal-I) and senior architect (development planning) – had issued instructions regarding structural repairs leading to delays on the part of the owner of the building. In July 2023, the BMC’s technical advisory committee (TAC) categorised the building as a C2-A structure, denoting that it was partially unsafe, requiring major structural repairs. But Irishman Developers Pvt Ltd (IDPL), the owners of the building, did not take any steps to initiate repair work, prompting the tenants of shops in the building to approach the high court in October 2023.

On January 29, 2024, the tenants vacated their shops, following the high court’s order. In June 2024, the high court directed the BMC to grant all necessary permissions to IDPL by July 5 and begin repair work by August 9. Despite these directives, no steps were taken by IDPL, prompting the tenants to file a fresh petition citing non-compliance with the earlier court order.

Since March 2023, BMC’s technical advisory committee has maintained that the repair work could be completed within three months. Failure to carry out the necessary work could result in the structure being reclassified as C1, denoting extremely dangerous and requiring demolition, it has warned.

As per tenants, the building has remained in a state of disrepair since 1994.