Thane has 4,507 unsafe buildings: TMC survey

A total of 4,507 city building are in dangerous condition, according to a survey conducted by Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Wednesday.

However, the number has gone down by 198 buildings as compared to last year when 4,705 buildings were classified as dangerous.

The TMC conducts a survey of dangerous buildings in the city every year before the monsoon.

An official from the anti-encroachment department said, “We have completed the survey of dangerous buildings from all the wards.”

“As per the survey, there are over 4,507 dangerous buildings in the city, out of which, 103 buildings are in the C1 category (extremely dangerous), 98 in C2A (dangerous category ), 2,297 in C2B (repairable) and 2,009 in C3 (needs minor repair) category,” the officer added.

“Naupada has 46 extremely dangerous buildings in the city, followed by 20 in Vartak Nagar and 15 in Lokmanya Sawarkar Nagar,” the official said.

As per the survey, the corporation will have to evacuate more than 200 buildings in C1 and C2A category before the monsoon.

The anti-encroachment department claimed that the eviction process has already begun and all buildings in the C1 category will be evacuated before the first week of June.

This year, the number of buildings in the extremely dangerous categories is more than the previous year, especially at Naupada and Kopri areas.

Mumbra also has the highest number of dangerous buildings, though most of them are repairable.

Majiwada Manpada ward which houses the entire Ghodbunder Road has the least number of dangerous constructions.

At 1,441, Mumbra has the highest number of dangerous buildings adding the four categories, followed by 1,086 in Wagale. However, unlike Naupada, most of these buildings are in repairable category.

The officialclaimed that all the buildings in C1 and C2A category will be evacuated by May 31.

However, the residents said that the rehabilitation issues need to be solved at the earliest.

Megha Mulaye, 35, a resident of Naupada said, “The corporation needs to first resolve the rehabilitation issues of residents of Naupada, only then they will evacuate the buildings.”

Rehman Ansari, 50, a resident of Kausa, Mumbra, said, “There are many old buildings in my area. However, people do not want to leave them as they do not have any alternative accommodation.”

“The redevelopment issues are unresolved,” the Mumbra resident said.

Last year, Naupada and Kopri ward had 37 buildings in extremely dangerous category, which has increased to 46 this year.

The official added, “Naupada, Lokmanya-Sawarkar Nagar wards constitutes the old Thane area. The buildings in the areas are now more than 40 to 50 years old. There is still no clarity on the floor space index (FSI) for the redevelopment of old buildings, which has stuck most of the redevelopment in these areas such as Naupada, Ram Maruti Road, Vishnu Nagar, B-cabin and Panchpakhadi.”

“Most of the buildings are also stuck owing to conflict of interest between the owners, tenants and developers. Moreover, the lack of alternate accommodation for such a large number of residents has also stalled the redevelopment of this area,” the officer said.

The official added that while most of the buildings have submitted the structural audit report, the ward office has also started evacuation of these buildings.

According to the Naupada ward office, the eviction process has already begun and out of the 46 buildings, around 20 buildings have already been vacated.