Plans sought for redevelopment of Mantralaya, ministers’ bungalows

“The state government had discussed the redevelopment of the area, which would be called the Mahavista, on the lines of the Central Vista," a PWD official said

MUMBAI: If all goes according to plan, the precinct dotting Mantralaya, the ministers’ bungalows opposite and Vidhan Bhavan, in Madam Cama Road, will resemble the Central Vista, New Delhi, in future. While plan for the makeover was revealed by the state government earlier this year, last week, the state public works department (PWD) invited a global tender for designs of the state secretariate and the ministers’ bungalows. Tender for refashioning Vidhan Bhavan will be invited in future.

(Yogesh Naik)

While announcing the interim budget in February finance minister Ajit Pawar had stated that Vidhan Bhavan and the administrative building would be demolished and rebuilt. The bungalows will be demolished and residential towers to accommodate IAS officers and ministers will come up on the plot, with adequate parking facilities. As the area is defined by art deco norms, rules are likely to be tweaked to bring up the towers.

Additional chief secretary (PWD) Manisha Mhaiskar told HT on Monday: “The state government had discussed the redevelopment of the area, which would be called the Mahavista, on the lines of the Central Vista. In order to get the best designs for this ambitious project, we need to have a global tender.” The deadline for submission is August 26.

The revamp has been in discussion for the past two-three decades. Talks were revived after a fire at Mantralaya in 2012, although no decision was made. Now, the Eknath Shinde government is planning to accelerate the proposal. A few months ago, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had insisted on the need for more space in the Vidhan Bhavan as the number of MLAs would increase after delimitation.

Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar said: “Vidhan Bhavan was constructed in 1980; 44 years have passed. An upgrade is required. The administrative building of Vidhan Bhavan is in a bad shape. The utilisation of space has to be planned better. We need to revamp the whole area and prepare master plan for wholistic development.”

Earlier this year, architect P K Das had given a presentation to the state cabinet on how the area around the ministerial bungalows and Mantralaya would look in a redeveloped state. An official from the state government said, both Fadnavis and Shinde wanted better ideas and hence called for a global tender for the entire area.

Firms applying for the tenders will have to provide the design concept and layout plans. The specifics should be in the form of a 3D walkthrough.

Since the British era, the area where the bungalows stand and its periphery were marked for a garden. Over time, the Mahatma Gandhi Garden was developed near the LIC Building, while part of the space opposite was developed into Jawaharlal Nehru Garden and the rest taken over to build the state BJP office, and other party offices.

The British had constructed the ministerial cottages. Some say, they were used as barracks for soldiers and later lock ups for prisoners of war in World War-II. When Mantralaya was constructed in the 1950s, they were used for storing cement.