Why Section 79-A Was Introduced

Cessed buildings — old rent-controlled structures mostly built before 1969 — have been a ticking time bomb in Mumbai for decades. Despite repeated incentives and policies, redevelopment remained painfully slow. Landlords often lacked funds or incentive because of frozen rents, while tenants were completely dependent on owners to initiate projects. MHADA could step in only after lengthy acquisition proceedings.

To break this deadlock, the Maharashtra government inserted Section 79-A into the MHADA Act in December 2022. The provision creates a strict time-bound compulsory redevelopment mechanism:

• Landlords/owners get 3 + 6 months to submit a redevelopment proposal with at least 51% tenant consent.
• If they fail, tenants get the next six months to propose redevelopment themselves.
• Only if both fail does MHADA step in as the last resort.

The clear objective was to save lives by fast-tracking reconstruction of dilapidated structures that have caused hundreds of deaths and injuries over the years through partial or full collapses.

Why the Bombay High Court Stayed the Notices

In July 2025, the High Court, while hearing a batch of writ petitions (lead case WP(L) No. 34771 of 2024), stayed 935 notices issued by MHADA’s Executive Engineers under Section 79-A. The court described the mass issuance as a “colossal misuse of authority”. Key concerns:

• Executive Engineers were not the “competent authority” under the MHADA Act or the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act to unilaterally declare buildings dangerous.
• Many notices were issued based only on visual inspections, without mandatory structural audits.
• The Vice-President’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of December 5, 2024, was questioned for lacking proper legal backing.

The court ordered 46 notices withdrawn immediately, kept the rest in abeyance, and constituted the two-member committee headed by former Bombay High Court judge Justice J.P. Devadhar and former Principal District Judge Shri Vilas Dongre to investigate the notices, withdrawals, officials’ roles, and the legality of the SOP.

What the Devadhar-Dongre Committee Found

After extensive hearings with MHADA officials, landlords, tenants, site visits to dilapidated buildings, and scrutiny of records, the committee’s 90-page report (Opinion section: pages 64–90) reaches several clear conclusions:

• The crisis is extremely serious: As of December 2025, Mumbai still has 12,552 cessed buildings (10,558 Category A built before 1940). Only a fraction have been structurally audited; 178 are already classified as C-1 (critically unsafe and unfit for habitation).
• MHADA’s intent in issuing the notices and the SOP was bona fide. Officials were responding to legislative pressure and trying to implement the new law to prevent further loss of life.
• The Vice-President had the authority to issue the SOPs (President’s post has been vacant for years). The SOPs actually improved the process by mandating structural audits, forming a Technical Advisory Committee, and giving fair hearing to all parties.
• Withdrawals of some notices were justified (technical errors, existing proposals, heritage issues, etc.).
• The real villain is systemic delay and administrative vacuum at MHADA and the Mumbai Repairs & Reconstruction Board.

The panel explicitly warns that at the current pace, it will take decades to redevelop all buildings — and more collapses are inevitable.

What Next?

The ball is now firmly in the Bombay High Court’s court. The committee’s report has effectively cleared most procedural and motive-related objections raised in July 2025. Legal experts believe the High Court is likely to:

• Accept the committee’s findings and lift or substantially modify the stay on the 79-A process.
• Allow redevelopment to proceed on buildings where structural audits confirm danger and 51%+ tenant consent exists (as the court had already permitted in some cases in December 2025).
• Direct MHADA to follow the improved SOP safeguards strictly.

For the lakhs of families living in these death-trap buildings, this could finally mean faster reconstruction, better homes, and an end to the constant fear of collapse — especially ahead of the monsoon season.

The report has put Mumbai’s 13,000+ unsafe cessed buildings at a decisive crossroads. If the High Court acts swiftly on the committee’s recommendations, Section 79-A could finally deliver the urgent redevelopment it was designed for.

The lives of four lakh Mumbaikars may depend on how quickly the court moves.

Also Read: MHADA Floats Tender for Kamathipura Redevelopment

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