13,000 pagadi buildings await redevelopment amid safety concerns in Mumbai

Hours after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the legislature about a new framework for the redevelopment of buildings operating under the pagadi system part of a slab collapsed on the second floor of Kotak Bhavan a dilapidated pagadi building in Masjid Bunder killing one and severely injuring two on Thursday nightWhile the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority MHADA had declared 935 buildings dilapidated in this yearrsquos premonsoon audit Pagadi Ekta Sangh President Mukesh Shah said ldquoThousands of buildings in the city have not been audited by any authority If these structures arenrsquot audited how can anyone declare what condition they are inrdquo According to the data available eight deaths and 33 major injuries occurred due to full or partial collapses of these buildings from 2021 to August 2025The buildingKotak Bhavan known as Sterling House after its ownership changed a year ago hasnrsquot been audited in 33 years Vitthal Borade a building resident said ldquoOur building is more than 60 years old The last time our building was repaired was in 1992 when the thenowner changed all wooden poles and pillars to iron beamsrdquoKey points from Eknath Shindersquos speech1 Three types of FSI will be given Tenants must get FSI proportionate to their current area landlords must get FSI proportionate to their land ownership FSI incentive FSI will be given to redevelop these buildings2 If any of these three types of FSI cannot be used or all three types cannot be utilised to their maximum use FSI will be provided in the form of TDR3 Proper implementation of Rent Control Act which is applicable to tenants of pagadi buildings is necessary as the agreements of these tenants are legally valid under this Act4 The number of cases between landlords and tenants being heard is 280005 Thus a fasttrack court will be set up to solve these matters within the next three years6 13000 pagadi buildings are awaiting redevelopmentThe pagadi systemThis is a traditional rental housing system where the tenants are partial owners of the house Under this system tenants pay a large onetime premium known as pagadi to landlords at the time of entry In return tenants receive nearpermanent occupancy rights Monthly rents remain extremely low and have often stayed unchanged for decadesThe mishapSantosh Kumar Yadav who took the victims of the collapse to JJ Hospital said ldquoMukesh Dendore who runs a tea stall was washing cups while two customers Shafiq Islam and Shaliram Jaiswal were sitting on a bench drinking tea when a cement slab fell on them Other locals and I removed the debris put the victims on handcarts and took them to the main road from where we took them to JJ Hospital ourselves Unfortunately Mukesh was declared lsquobrought deadrsquordquo Islam meanwhile was diagnosed with a broken spine while Jaiswal lost two toesHurdles in redeveloping pagadi buildingsChandrashekhar Prabhu a housing expert said ldquoProvisions in the Rent Control Act fuel ongoing disputes between landlords and tenants An amendment to the Act permits landlords to evict tenants if they need the premises for their personal use Taking advantage of this builders are showing that all their partners and their extended families require the premises for their personal use Most documents submitted are forged or bogus Yet lakhs of tenants have been evicted The government is doing nothingrdquoldquoThe bigger problem is corruption among all authorities There is a nexus between builders politicians and bureaucrats which wants to evict tenants Also when authorities say that the redevelopment of these buildings requires huge funds the first question is why were they buildings not repaired regularly despite collecting cess from the tenants for this very purposerdquoPrabhu further alleged that MHADA wanted to hand over prime portions of South Mumbairsquos cessed buildings to builders by evicting tenants ldquoThe practical solution is the correct amendment of Rent Control Act with a view to protecting tenants and honest implementation without corruptionrdquo he saidPagadi tenantsrsquo activist Jeetendra Ghadgersquos analysisldquoThis move will certainly benefit thousands of small buildings and those affected by roadwidening projects But the government must ensure that tenants are rehabilitated in the same locality and that a minimum guaranteed incentive FSI is provided Regarding the proposal for fasttrack courts the real focus should be on amending the Rent Act so that disputes between landlords and tenants do not end up in litigationMost importantly the government must prioritise redevelopment Once a pagadi building is redeveloped it becomes a cooperative society mdash a transition that will naturally phase out the pagadi system from Mumbairdquo