Kitab Mahal tenants seek action against owner; BMC slaps notice

Even months after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sent a letter to the owner and tenants of the iconic Kitab Mahal mentioning that it was in a precarious condition, nothing much has been done to repair the structure.

Citing concerns over its safety, the tenants of the Fort building sent a legal notice to the civic body raising objections against the status of the current landlord. The BMC hit back with another notice saying that as they failed to carry out the necessary repairs, they would now initiate legal action against them.

Based on a legal notice sent by the Kitab Mahal Residents' Welfare Association on February 4, the tenants have challenged the status of Moti Bhatia as the building's landlord (as mentioned in BMC's letters). The notice states that as the previous lease expired in 1999 and it hasn't been renewed since, the BMC cannot consider Bhatia as the landlord.

According to the tenants, the previous owners Taraporewalas had sold the property to Komal Realty in December 2014, long after the lease had expired. In the notice, the residents have also alleged that Bhatia did illegal alterations to the structure and violated fire safety norms.

Niloufer Kapadia, a member of the association said, "The fire exits are blocked due to the alterations, the atriums have been covered and there are no fire fighting equipment. Despite bringing it to the notice of the authorities, no action has been taken."

Another resident said, "How can BMC consider Bhatia as the landlord if he has done so many illegal alterations to the building. They should consider him to be just another tenant."

However, Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of A ward, said, "Our concern is only the repairs, irrespective of their internal dispute. Since they have failed to do so, we will initiate action as per the law."

"We don't know who the current landlord is. We issued the notice (on February 15) to Bhatia, as the structure needed immediate restoration, and he had come forward. We did not state that he is the landlord," said another official.

When contacted, officials in the Estate Department confirmed that the lease had not been renewed and on record the last landlord of the building was the Taraporewalas. "If the property was sold after expiry of lease, then the BMC won't consider the agreement. We are awaiting some clarification from the state government on the renewal process. When the process of renewing the agreement is taken up, we will take legal help to decide on the future course of action," said an official.

Meanwhile, after a meeting between the tenants and Bhatia, one of the residents said, "Earlier, he insisted that he would carry out the repair work only after we vacated the premises which we didn't agree to. But after today's meeting, he agreed to do the repairs without us leaving the premises."

When contacted, Bhatia said, "I am the building's landlord and even the BMC has accepted it. Why would I agree to carry out the repairs at my own cost if I was not the landlord? I want to resolve the issue. I will inform the BMC that the tenants have agreed to let me take up the building's renovation. The residents will not have to vacate the premises."

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