The 2005 Crackdown That Was Silently Buried

In 2005, the BMC issued demolition notices under Section 351 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act against dozens of properties, accusing them of illegal and unauthorised constructions that violated building norms and endangered public safety.

The owners approached the City Civil Court and won. On 12 October 2009, the court quashed all the demolition notices. BMC had a clear 30-day window to challenge these orders in the High Court. It did nothing.

Nine Years of Official Silence: A System Designed to Fail

For the next nine years, those 2009 orders were buried deep inside BMC’s files. No appeal was filed. No senior officers were informed. The concerned officials simply did not report the losses. The world’s largest municipal corporation had zero mechanism to track adverse court judgments against itself.

As per BMC’s own admission in court, its officers “did not inform the progress of the matters nor did they inform about the judgment being passed against the Corporation.” In plain words, the officials paid from taxpayers’ money to protect Mumbai chose to sleep on their duty.

This was not a single lapse — it happened in 26 separate cases.

December 2017: The Kamla Mills Inferno That Exposed Everything

On 29 December 2017, a fire broke out at Kamla Mills Compound in Lower Parel. Illegal rooftop additions, unauthorised structures, and complete absence of fire safety turned the building into a deadly trap.

14 young lives were lost. Many more were injured. The tragedy was not an accident — it was the direct outcome of the same unchecked illegal construction culture that BMC had failed to confront for years.

Only after the national outrage following the Kamla Mills fire did BMC suddenly “discover” the old 2009 orders and file appeals in 2018 — with delays ranging from one to nearly nine years.

High Court’s Scathing Rebuke: “Shocking… Show-Off… Scapegoats”

On 2 April 2026, Justice Jitendra Jain delivered a blistering judgment. The court refused to condone the massive delay, calling BMC’s excuse “very shocking”. The judge slammed the corporation for using the Kamla Mills tragedy as a convenient afterthought to justify its own inaction.

While the court dismissed all the delayed appeals, it granted BMC liberty to conduct fresh inspections and issue new demolition notices wherever illegal structures still exist today.

The Moral Bankruptcy Behind the Deaths

This is not mere procedural failure. This is a story of moral collapse.

Had the BMC acted responsibly in 2009 — challenged the orders and demolished the flagged illegal structures — the message of zero tolerance might have gone out loud and clear. The culture of impunity that later allowed Kamla Mills to become a death trap could have been challenged years earlier.

Instead, BMC officials chose comfort over duty. They let illegal structures stand. They let files gather dust. And because of that, Mumbai paid with innocent lives.

What Happens Next?

The High Court has ordered BMC to complete departmental action against the guilty officers and their superiors within four months and submit a compliance report by 12 August 2026. It has warned that mere show-cause notices will not be enough.

Mumbai is watching. The families who lost loved ones in Kamla Mills are watching. Every unauthorised building standing today is proof that when BMC sleeps, citizens burn.

Also Read: When Dhoni sold a joint property in Mumbai at less than RR rates

The post BMC’s 9-Year Delay on Illegal Structures: Could 14 Kamla Mills Lives Have Been Saved? appeared first on Square Feat India.

What Happened

Residents reported a loud crash around 3:15 pm, after which they discovered that the puzzle parking structure had given way. Vehicles buried under the collapsed system include:

• Tata Vista – owned by Archana Parag Adani (Flat 1601)
• MG Hector – owned by Shubhalaxmi Ganesh Shahigal (Flat 901)
• Maruti Suzuki Ritz – owned by Dinesh Velji Shah (Flat 401)
• Renault Kwid – owned by Gautam Thakur, used by Mrudula Vijay Vayangankar (Flat 601)
• Hyundai Getz – owned by resident Suken Vasant Shah.

Govind Muthukumar, Director at Tridhaatu Realty, responded to the incident saying:
“We had given soft possession to residents to carry out fit-out works, but many began residing there over the past year. Our Occupancy Certificate was delayed due to certain technical reasons; however, we have applied for it and are hopeful of receiving it within the next three months. The puzzle parking maintenance was being handled by the residents through a third-party agency when the incident occurred.”

Accountability in Question

1. BMC’s Role
   Despite residents occupying flats since 2024, Tridhaatu Aaroha has not received its Occupancy Certificate (OC) from BMC. Allowing possession and continued residence without OC points to glaring enforcement failures that put buyers’ lives and property at risk.
2. Developer’s Negligence
   The project’s developer, Tridhaatu Realty, handed over possession without securing OC clearance. Such premature handovers violate norms and leave residents vulnerable to safety lapses.
3. Contractor’s Responsibility
   The collapsed system had been installed and was under work by Spartan Tech, the contractor responsible for the puzzle parking mechanism. Lapses in installation, servicing, or safety oversight are now under police investigation.

Residents Pay the Price

Families who invested in the project are now left to deal with crushed vehicles, shaken confidence in the building’s safety, and the possibility that insurance claims may be rejected due to the absence of an OC. For many, the collapse is not just about damaged cars—it is about living in a home that has not been certified as safe for occupancy.

The Larger Picture

While police have initiated proceedings against the contractor, experts say accountability cannot stop there. Unless BMC enforces its own rules and developers are penalized for handing over flats without OC, such avoidable collapses will continue to endanger homebuyers across Mumbai.

Also Read: Homebuyers Win Big: Tribunal Nixes Builder Moratorium, Orders Compensation for Delays

The post Puzzle Parking Collapse at Tridhaatu Aaroha: BMC, Developer and Contractor Face Tough Questions appeared first on Square Feat India.