MUMBAI: In a move that could revive the long-stalled redevelopment of more than 13,000 old and dilapidated cessed buildings in Mumbai, a private member’s Bill has proposed an amendment to the MHADA Act to remove the legal ambiguity that led the Bombay High Court to stay the implementation of Section 79A.The Bill, recently introduced in the Assembly by legislator Ajay Choudhari, proposes authorising officers empowered by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to exercise powers under Section 79A. If the state government introduces a similar Bill, it would replace the earlier reference to a “competent authority”, which became the focal point of the legal challenge.The proposed amendment is significant for lakhs of tenants living in ageing buildings, many of them built before 1940, whose redevelopment has remained stalled for years due to landlord-tenant disputes, prolonged litigation and the reluctance of some property owners to redevelop unsafe structures.Nearly a year ago, the Bombay High Court stayed around 935 notices issued by MHADA under Section 79A, observing that the powers may have been exercised without proper legal authority. The matter is currently pending before the Supreme Court.Sections 79A and 79B were inserted into the MHADA Act in 2020 following a series of fatal building collapses in Mumbai, including the Husaini Building collapse in 2017, the Dongri collapse in 2019 and the Fort building collapse in 2020. The provisions empowered MHADA to step in when landlords failed to redevelop dangerous buildings and allowed tenants, subject to majority consent, to undertake redevelopment themselves.The urgency of speeding up redevelopment is underscored by official figures. According to RTI information obtained by activist Jeetendra Ghadge, Mumbai recorded 345 incidents of full or partial building collapses between 2021 and August 2025, resulting in eight deaths and 28 injuries. MHADA records also show that 815 people died in building collapses between 1970 and 2018.Welcoming the amendment, Ghadge, founder of The Young Whistleblowers Foundation, said the government could remove the ambiguity that has stalled the implementation of Section 79A by acting on the Bill. He also expressed hope that the Supreme Court would eventually allow the scheme to be implemented, paving the way for the redevelopment of dangerous buildings.Legal experts said the proposed amendment, if taken up by the government, is intended to strengthen the state’s position before the Supreme Court by clearly identifying the authority empowered to issue directions under Section 79A. However, implementation of the redevelopment mechanism will remain subject to the outcome of the pending proceedings before the apex court.If the proposed amendment survives judicial scrutiny after being introduced by the state government, it could pave the way for one of Mumbai’s biggest redevelopment initiatives, offering a fresh opportunity to redevelop thousands of ageing buildings and improve safety for lakhs of residents living under the city’s traditional pagdi tenancy system.
