The residents of Tardeo’s Willingdon Heights building are now facing a major hurdle in obtaining the Occupancy Certificate (OC), as the BMC has asked them to pay a heavy penalty of Rs 32 crore. “They have complied with fire safety requirements and have applied for the OC. They are supposed to pay Rs 32 crore as a penalty, which they have reluctantly agreed to. Once it is paid, we will inform the High Court,” municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani told mid-day.

However, Narendra Bhandari, the building’s chairman, told mid-day that nothing had been given to them in writing by the BMC as of Thursday. “The BMC architect had indicated that roughly this much amount would have to be paid. But so far, we have not received any specific figure in writing,” he said.

When asked about Bhandari’s statement, Gagrani did not respond. Meanwhile, a hearing in the case scheduled for Thursday was cancelled. “The Division Bench presided over by Hon’ble Shri Justice GS Kulkarni and Hon’ble Shri Justice Arif S Doctor will not take up ‘Chamber Main Causelist’ scheduled for today, ie 04.09.2025, at 2:45 pm,” read the HC notice. This means that residents will now have to continue living in makeshift homes at their offices, hotels, or relatives’ places for many more days, or even months.