Mumbai, July 11 -- The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development (Mhada) Act was amended in both houses of the legislature on Friday to clear the way for the redevelopment of over 13,000 dilapidated buildings in the city. The buildings will be reconstructed through the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board. The amendment was done to remove the legal ambiguity that had led the Bombay High Court to stay the implementation of Section 79A of the Mhada Act. 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 building collapse in 2019 and the Fort building crash in 2020. The provisions gave powers to Mhada to take the lead when landlords failed to redevelop dangerous buildings, and allowed tenants, subject to majority consent, to undertake redevelopment themselves. However, this was challenged in the high court, which stayed around 935 notices issued by Mhada under Section 79A, observing that the powers may have been exercised without proper legal authority. The legislature has amended the Act to give Mhada the legal authority to redevelop the old and dilapidated buildings for which it has been collecting cess. The issue is now pending before the Supreme Court and the amendment will help Mhada get the desired verdict, said officials. The amendment will help thousands of tenants living in very old buildings, whose redevelopment has remained stalled for decades due to landlord-tenant disputes....