Precarious Houses

Context: Bhiwandi, a suburban town in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, has witnessed a building collapse, killing at least 20 people including minors, and exposing once again, the precarious condition of many dwellings in one of India’s more prosperous States.

Rising incidence of building collapse:

• In July, seven people died in the commercial capital, when two chawl buildings in densely populated working-class areas crashed after heavy rain.
• Another incident in Mahad, in the rain­drenched Raigad district, killed many in August.

Reasons for rising incidences of building collapses

• Rising Quantum of rainfall: Coastal Maharashtra has often received a staggering quantum of monsoon rainfall, and Thane district, where Bhiwandi is located, recorded 320 cm three years ago, over the average of about 240 cm.
• Weak and Archaic infrastructure: due to non-availability of funds for maintenance.
• A weaker economic due to COVID has also put pressure on infrastructure spending.

• Mumbai’s municipal government has been identifying and classifying buildings based on hazard levels for some time now, and last year found 499 to be in a dangerous state.
• Political interference: Mumbai’s municipal engineers have complained of political interference in the enforcement of safety norms.

Way Forward:

• Ensure safety audits under municipal services:

• Including under the sub-urban local bodies such as the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, which lack the capacity and resources to carry out a comprehensive check.
• Incentivize owners: to ensure timely safety repairs with support from the Centre and the State, making such certi?ed expenditure tax deductible. 
• Hybrid solutions to housing: which ensures decent, affordable social accommodation for the poor.