MUMBAI, April 13 -- Pravin Prabhakar Patil, 42, stands on his ancestral land in Virar West, fervently praying that the 50-year-old structure on it, categorised as C-1 or "dangerously dilapidated" a good 10 years ago, does not crash and kill someone. Even after pursuing the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) for years, Patil has been unable to get a certificate to evacuate the occupants of Vithu Patil Building, named after his grandfather, in order to demolish the building. "With every strong wind, heavy rainfall and even rising summer temperatures over the past 10 years, I have held my breath and prayed that the structure does not collapse," said Patil, fearful that he could be held criminally liable for any mishap. The structure, sprawling over 17 gunthas, used to have 50 flats on the first and second floors and 27 galas or shops on the ground floor, which were given to occupants under the 'Pagdi' system. In 2016, the VVCMC declared the building as C-1, indicating that residing in it was extremely risky. Patil said that thereafter, the first and second floors were torn down-however, the 27 galas remained. Vithu Patil Building is not the only dangerously dilapidated structure standing for years within VVCMC limits. Of the 134 buildings declared as C-1 by the civic body, at least 52 are still standing, posing a serious risk to the lives of their occupants and passersby. According to VVCMC data, 26 of the buildings awaiting demolition have been referred to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the body that assesses the structural stability of the building. VVCMC officers said that of the 52 dangerous buildings, eight were still occupied by residents. Additional commissioner Deepak Sawant said that the corporation served a notice to residents of C-1 category buildings after a survey, requiring them to vacate the premises before demolition began. "However, often residents refuse to evacuate. In such cases, we write to the police to evacuate them," he said. Residents agree that staying in a dangerous building is playing with their own lives; however, they claim they have no place to go which forces them to stay. Kailash Patil, a social activist and leader of the Agri Sena said that on March 18, a major tragedy was averted in Sahakar Nagar, Virar East, after the slab of Om Apartment, a dilapidated four-storey residential building collapsed. According to official reports, a significant portion of a ceiling slab suddenly crashed down at 5.15 pm. The building, which is reportedly old and in a precarious condition, was in the C-1 list. "The residents were aware of the danger but did not vacate the premises as they were poor and could not afford the rate of shifting into new buildings in the region," said Patil. While no injuries or fatalities were reported, the authorities evacuated seven families from the premises which had previously refused to move. Dhananjay Gawde, an activist who fought for the rights of residents of the 41 unauthorised buildings in Vasai East, said that VVCMC did not take appropriate action in time, such as conducting annual surveys of old buildings so that repair work could be done. "It is only when incidents of slab collapse take place that VVCMC wakes up," he said. VVCMC officers, however, claimed they were working on a war footing to survey the condition of old buildings. "The move will not only secure the present but also help in protecting the city from future disaster," said Sawant, urging citizens to cooperate with the administration and vacate the dangerous buildings soon, giving priority to the safety of their families....