Shiv Sena leader and former Union minister Arvind Sawant has appealed to the Centre to grant approval to an amendment to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act to protect the interest of residents of dilapidated and "cessed" buildings by allowing either repair or redevelopment of such structures.

He has written to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, days after the collapse of a residential building in Malwani, in Mumbai's suburb of Malad, left 12 people dead.