Maharashtra govt acquired Mumbai’s iconic Air India building
Pic source: Air India
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government’s decision to buy the iconic 23-storey Air India building at Nariman Point at Rs 1,601 crore might be part of its plans for the development of Mantralaya, the seat of power, sources say. The state government will buy the building from Air India Assets Holding Limited, formed in 2008 to look after Air India’s properties.
Space, the final frontier
The 4.99 lakh square foot building was constructed in 1974 on a plot of land owned by the Maharashtra government. The state government has decided to waive off all the penalties and taxes imposed on the building. The waived off amount runs into several crores. The state plans to shift four departments – public health, medical education, water supply and sanitation, along with rural development – to the Air India building. These departments were moved out of Mantralaya to the GT Hospital after a big fire at the state’s seat of power in 2012. Other departments are also likely to shift there, creating more space in Mantralaya.
At present, the government functions from the seven-storey Mantralaya and 16-storey new administration building. There is ample vacant space around these two administrative buildings. Apart from that, there are 14 bungalows for the ministers in the vicinity.
In 2012, then Public Works Department minister Chhagan Bhujbal had mooted the idea to demolish Mantralaya and the ministers’ cottages and reconstruct the entire area similar to New Delhi’s Central Vista project. That would have paved the way for taller administrative buildings as well as every single government office under one roof with maximum use of open space. Then CM Prithviraj Chavan had rejected the idea saying the Mantralaya building was structurally fit and there was no need for additional expenses.
A source in Mantralaya says the state’s central vista project may be revived once the government occupies the Air India building. “There is ample space in the Air India building to house the Chief Minister’s office. If the CM decides, the state can have its own central vista in future.”
Real estate boom
A Metro line is being constructed near the Mantralaya. The line will connect the southern tip of the city to the central suburbs. At the same time, it will help the real estate in the area grow exponentially. Nariman Point, Mumbai’s first central business district, has lost its sheen since the arrival of another business district Bandra-Kurla Complex, in the early 2000s. However, experts believe that the redeveloped Mantralaya could revive the sheen of Nariman Point as south Mumbai would always remain as the top choice for businesses.
A slice of history
At present nine floors of the Air India building are vacant. Three floors house GST offices. The income-tax department has eight floors. The ground and first floors are currently with Air India. The Maharashtra government outbid the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). They had proposals of Rs 1,400 crore and Rs 1,375 crore respectively against Air India’s asking price of Rs 2,000 crore.
The building was one of the 12 targets of the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts on March 12, 1993. A car bomb had exploded in the basement garage, killing 20 people and destroying the offices of the Bank of Oman located above. The 13th floor of the building remains unoccupied to date because of superstition.
