Kailash Prabhat demolition: Disconnection of water and power stalled for 2nd day

MUMBAI: On account of not getting police protection, the BMC, for the second consecutive day, was unable to disconnect the electricity and water supply of Kailash Prabhat CHS. The housing society, adjacent to the BKC-Kurla junction, has been classified by the civic body’s Technical Advisory Committee in the C1 category and slated for demolition despite the residents producing five prior structural audit reports stating that it was C(2B) (“safe and repairable”).

HT, which has been reporting on the issue from June 11, has now learnt that the BMC has neither issued the residents a notice for disconnection of electricity and water supply nor has it followed due process of law and measured all the flats.

“An area measurement certificate has to be given to every flat owner, besides seven days’ time for rectification,” said resident Mehmood Ahmed, adding that 27 out of 132 flats were still to be measured. “Without this certificate and without a notice to disconnect electricity and water supply, how is the BMC seeking police protection to enter our society?”

Abdul Noor Khan, another resident said, “Once they demolish our homes, how will we prove the area of our flats? How can we vacate before this procedure is followed?”

Prerak Choudhary, an advocate, said that any action on the part of a public authority had to be reasonable and bonafide and could not be arbitrary or high-handed in nature. “Therefore, it is expected that before taking any step such as disconnection of electricity and water supply, the BMC should issue a reasonable notice to the affected parties,” he said.

The response of deputy municipal commissioner Vishwas Mote to this was that since the issue had been on for six weeks, “notices must have been issued by the assistant commissioner”. When asked why area measurement certificates were not issued, Mote said that some residents had locked their homes and some were abroad when the BMC visited for measurements.

Of the 132 families in the society, a few, including the society chairman and secretary vacated their homes in 2023 after signing a redevelopment agreement (DA) with a builder. Eighteen of these returned after the builder failed to pay them rent for alternative accommodation. The residents have no place to go if evicted by the BMC.

Mote, when questioned, said these were two separate issues. “We are not concerned with their internal society matter on redevelopment,” he said. “We are only concerned about their safety and we need to vacate the buildings as they come under the C1 category.”

The BMC had also asked Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) to cut the gas supply to Kailash Prabhat CHS. “We got an intimation that BMC officials would come with police protection,” said Suhas Khamkar, an MGL official who visited the building. “But we cannot disconnect the supply when residents are still occupying their flats.”

In a desperate move, the residents have now appealed to Adani Electricity to not cut their electricity supply. “There are 20 bedridden residents who depend on a continuous electricity supply for their medical and daily necessities such as oxygen concentrators and nebulisers…,” says the letter. “It is critical to emphasise that any interruption in electricity could pose a severe risk to the health and safety of vulnerable residents.”