Overview
- Around 200 housing societies decided on December 7 to skip the upcoming BMC election, with estimates of affected residents ranging from roughly 15,000 to 40,000.
- SRO-150, issued on June 19, 1976, restricts permanent construction above 15.24 metres within 500 yards of the Army’s wireless transmission station and requires Defence clearance for redevelopment.
- Residents say enforcement tightened after 2011 following the Adarsh scandal, halting projects that had earlier obtained permissions and leaving some buildings partially redeveloped.
- Local groups cite aging structures—often 40–50 years old, on marshy land, with leaks, cracks, and no lifts—raising fears about monsoon-season safety, particularly for seniors.
- A technical report by late IIT engineer Anilkumar J. Doshi argued the restriction is obsolete with modern communications, while residents say years of appeals to officials have yielded no policy change or new response.