MUMBAI, May 4 -- For a cluster of ageing chawls and buildings at Khetwadi and Lamington Road in Mumbai, a slogan hovers as a cruel irony: 'Zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi' (With you in life, and even after') goes the tagline of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). These buildings, owned by the largest state-owned insurer, have been deemed dangerous and unfit for habitation. However, even as eviction notices loom and structural risks worsen, the 800 hundred-odd residents who live in them are unwilling - or unable - to leave. At the entrance to the 137-year-old Angrewadi Chawl in Khetwadi, a notice board prominently displays LIC's eviction order alongside a precautionary warning. Here, five chawl buildings rest precariously on props and pillars, a constant reminder of how fragile life can be. Together, they house 94 tenants and around 500 residents. In April, LIC installed safety nets around the buildings, to shield pedestrians, mostly school children, who pass through the chawl daily on their way to Khetwadi. The nets are meant to catch falling debris from the crumbling buildings. For those living in these structures, the danger is far more immediate. "Every time a BEST bus passes by, we whisper a prayer," said one resident, as vibrations from nearby construction sites send tremors through the weakened structures. "Jackhammers used for neighbouring buildings under redevelopment make our homes shudder, utensils fall off shelves, plaster keeps peeling, and new cracks appear every few months," said Arun Phadke, a resident. Minaxi Patel, who lives in a 245-sq ft room on the ground floor in Angrewadi Chawl No 5, feels abandoned by both the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) and LIC. "Neither MHADA nor LIC is willing to undertake repairs," she said. Hers is a predicament faced by many: paying rent without receiving even basic structural upkeep. "I pay Rs.6,500 every month, but no repairs are undertaken. I have spent on repairs from my own pocket," said Patel. The risks are not hypothetical. "The room next to mine, where the Shinde family lived, has collapsed. We shared a common wall," Patel said. While her neighbours moved to Pune, her own family of five continues to live in the shadow of death. They have no choice. "My son works in Mahalaxmi. Where will we go? Where will I find a house in South Mumbai for Rs.6,500?" she asked. Patel has plastered her home three times in recent years, but the cracks keep returning. "There are parts of the house I cannot even touch, I am afraid the whole structure will cave in," she said. The history of Angrewadi adds another layer of complexity. Originally owned by Sardar Angre, a dewan to a maharaja, the property later changed hands and vested with LIC after the nationalisation of insurance companies. Today, the chawl houses 94 tenants and around 500 residents. Angrewadi Chawl, earlier categorised as 'A' due to its severe structural deterioration, has been repaired nine times since 1971. Yet, the buildings, being over a century old, are beyond simple repairs. Ramesh Nirmal Jain, redevelopment convener and joint secretary of the Angrewadi Rahiwasi Seva Sangh, said the buildings have undergone repairs multiple times. "Since 1975, when the Mhada repair board was formed, the chawls have been repaired nine times," he said. But, now, authorities are divided on their fate. "Mhada says the repair fund is exhausted and the buildings are beyond repair. LIC, however, cited a 2023 structural audit claiming they are repairable," he said. A subsequent audit by Mhada placed the buildings firmly in the C1 category, declaring them dangerous for habitation and recommending demolition. LIC initially agreed and issued warning and eviction notices, asking tenants to seek transit accommodation from Mhada on December 12, 2025. However, the matter soon escalated into a legal dispute. The case reached the Bombay High Court, where questions over jurisdiction, particularly Mhada's authority to issue notices to LIC-owned properties, remain unresolved. "LIC invited tenders in March 2025 to appoint a project management consultant under DCPR 33(7), where tenants are supposed to get ownership," Jain said. "But we have no clarity. We don't know if the PMC has been appointed or what our entitlements are. Our fate hangs in the balance," said Jain. A similar story is unfolding at New Badamwadi on Lamington Road, where five buildings aged over 125 years old house 126 tenants and 300-odd residents. The buildings are referred to as the 'Topiwala building/chawl cluster' (Moti Topiwala is the landlord), one of South Mumbai's privately owned tenanted properties that has become emblematic of the city's redevelopment gridlock. Located off Lamington Road in the Girgaon belt, the property comprises old, densely occupied structures. They fall under the broader category of cessed buildings, making it subject to overlapping jurisdiction between private ownership, tenants' rights, and regulatory oversight by Mhada and LIC. Sanket Satardekar, chairperson of the New Badamwadi Association, describes a cycle of uncertainty and fear. "Our situation mirrors Angrewadi's," he said. "We were served a 79(a) notice in 2025, which was later withdrawn. Then in December, a slab from the first floor of Mandodari building collapsed early one morning." Following the incident, LIC officials visited the site and told residents that a tender had been floated to appoint a project management consultant (PMC) for redevelopment, in November 2025. In March this year, Mhada issued fresh notices under Section 88(3), declaring the buildings beyond repair and ordering immediate evacuation. "We are stuck between Mhada's notices and incomplete redevelopment plans," said Satardekar. "We have no written agreement with LIC. We want them to finalise the PMC and appoint a developer who can at least provide us rent so we can relocate. Instead, we are being asked to vacate without any clarity." Residents say they have learnt more about redevelopment plans through informal channels than through official communication. "We heard about the PMC tender from outside. Nothing has been formally conveyed to us," he said. Meanwhile, Minerva Mansion in Dadar east too faces similar a fate, where LIC issued an eviction notice on April 10. Here, residents are caught in the same limbo, of risk, legal ambiguity, and administrative inaction. In April, after meeting Union finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, cabinet minister and developer, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, raised concerns about 10,000 tenants across 25 LIC buildings. A letter from the LIC Tenants and Occupants Welfare Association had urged urgent intervention to fast-track redevelopment and ensure residents' safety, amid indications from LIC that appointing a project management consultant could take up to two years. Tenants demanded immediate PMC appointment, interim accommodation according to Mhada norms, suspension of rent for vacated buildings, a halt to evictions until redevelopment begins, and guaranteed housing for all occupants without discrimination. They also sought protection from additional financial during the transition. In response, Sitharaman assured that the centre would look into the issue and ensure justice, and housing protection. Barun Kumar Khan, regional manager (estates) from LIC's estate department, declined to comment on the status of redevelopment. Meeta Khare, executive director (estates), LIC, was unavailable for comment....