Two months later, the 29-year-old New Yashwant Bhuvan at Vile Parle (East) still stands tall. The building with peeling walls and crumbling pillars doesn't even have an occupancy certificate. Yet, the 22 families are divided over moving out, with some residents preferring to stay put in the rickety structure rather than shift elsewhere.

The K/east ward office appears keen on demolishing the building which, informed a sub-engineer, is in the name of 19-year-old Himanshu Shah. On May 25, the corporation even disconnected the building's water supply. However, the City Civil court ordered the BMC to restore the connection the next day, and water started flowing the week after that, informed KantilalShah, president of the New Yashwant Bhuvan Tenants' Association.

Now, the BMC plans to ask its legal department to prosecute the tenants and the owner for non-execution of its order to pull down the building. The three-storeyed building also poses a threat to 11 families residing in a single-storeyed chawl which is located on the same property behind New Yashwant Bhuvan.

Although the BMC says it has done its bit to `avert another Govind Towers style collapse', some tenants allege that the notice is prompted by vested interests who want to get the building vacated as it occupies prime land. Added Kantilal, the lack of alternative accommodation in the event that the building is demolished is a major deterrent. In the case of tenanted buildings in the suburbs - unlike in the city - it is not binding on the owner to provide alternative accommodation.

Like the infamous Govind Towers, which collapsed in Bandra (east) almost a year back and claimed several lives, New Yashwant Bhuvan too has a history ofunauthorised construction ever since it was built in 1970. The building came up behind a chawl built in 1918, called Yashwant Bhuvan. According to Kantilal, who's one of the oldest tenants, P M Muslunkar, the original owner of the plot, had not completed construction in the building. The next owner, Babulal Shah - the father of Himanshu - got ownership of the building in 1990 and reportedly undertook unauthorised constructions like shops in the premises, said Kantilal. Babulal transferred the property to Himanshu in in 1990.

A resident of the chawl moved the City Civil Court in 1972 on grounds that natural light and ventilation to the chawl was being blocked by the new structure. The court verdict, which came only in 1989, upheld an earlier BMC order to demolish part of the structure considered illegal. ``But no demolition ever took place as BMC officials kept passing the buck around from one department to another,'' said Kantilal.

Tenants had collectively undertaken repair work in 1976 and managed to getan assurance from the BMC that there would be no further attempts at demolition. According to chawl dwellers, former municipal Commissioner B G Deshmukh had even paid the building a visit and ordered that part of the L shaped building be demolished.

Recently, the tenants' association submitted a stability certificate issued by architect M A Varangaonkar stating that the building could be repaired. However, BMC officials say the architect's report is invalid as only a structural engineer has the authority to issue a stability certificate. According to a report by structural engineer Navin Shah, the building is on its last leg and a collapse of any portion would cause the whole structure to crumble.

According to Babulal Shah, ``We are ready to demolish the building, but there is resistance from some tenants who have approached court. These tenants hold commercial premises and are therefore not too concerned if the building collapses.''

Added Shah, ``We have even submitted a proposal to the BMC statingthat we will accommodate all existing tenants in a new building on the same plot. We also wrote to the tenants regarding this arrangement. We are ready to give them area equivalent to what they currently occupy and will also give alternate accommodation till the new building is ready.''

However, Kantilal Shah stays wary of the builder's plans. He informed that Shah has proposed to give each tenant Rs 2,000 per month as rental allowance. ``But with even a 100 sq ft room costing about Rs 5,000 rent per month, this amount is hardly enough,'' he declared. Kantilal also alleged that the BMC and the builder are colluding to throw tenants out, adding that some tenants who are related to the new owner have moved out. Some tenants informed that while they have shifted out their belongings, they will continue to live at the visibly dilapidated New Yashwant Bhuvan till an agreement is arrived at.