Mumbai: Panel finds heritage structures missing from new blueprint

Heritage structures in Mumbai may fall victim to the proposed development plan (DP) by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Heritage structures in Mumbai may fall victim to the proposed development plan (DP) by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

In their meeting on Thursday, the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) discussed how the new blueprint had been prepared without considering the heritage value of structures at several locations.

A member of the committee said several heritage buildings had not been marked in the development plan. “At a later stage, the BMC can claim that the structure is not a heritage building. There are hundreds of such sites that need to be brought to the notice of the civic body, or the city may lose most of its heritage structures in the next 20 years,” the member said.

V Ranganathan, chairman of the committee, said the draft plan needed to be modified in order to preserve the heritage value of an area. “We are going to take up the issue with the civic body. We will submit our objection for each heritage structure that will be affected by the DP. The BMC will hear each case individually once the matter is taken up strongly with the administration,” he said.

During the meeting, the committee also discussed and took objection to multi-coloured lights being installed on Grade 1 heritage structures.

“Various agencies put up lights on the CST building and the Gateway of India without the permission of the MHCC,” said Ranganathan.