Overview
- The state legislature passed the amendment on July 10, 2026, replacing the vague term “Competent Authority” with a clause that lets officers authorised by MHADA exercise Section 79A powers.
- The change was prompted by a court stay that froze about 935 MHADA notices after judges said the authority to act was not clearly defined.
- Officials and advocates say the amendment should allow long-stalled redevelopment proposals for thousands of ageing cessed buildings to be revived, but the law still needs formal implementation steps.
- Public safety data underline the urgency: RTI returns show 345 partial or full building collapses in Mumbai between 2021 and August 2025, and MHADA records report 815 collapse deaths between 1970 and 2018.
- Major hurdles remain because landlord resistance, tenant disputes, the 51 percent consent rule for tenant-led projects and new legal challenges could delay actual rebuilding even after notices are reissued.