BMC stalls heritage nod for 950 major landmarks

Currently,574 structures and precincts are listed as heritage structures with the city’s civic department.

Noted art historian and curator Tasneem Mehta,who had been involved in reviewing the list,said: “We are losing our heritage at a very rapid pace. We need to urgently notify these structures so that our urban heritage is not lost.”

Another member of the now-defunct Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee said unless these buildings are notified,these structures can either be damaged or demolished for new structures or highrises.

Another senior member pointed out that the delay may have already led to owners of private structures selling these to private builders for redevelopment.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Heritage Conservation Society had as early as 2005 taken up the task of revising the 10-year-old heritage list,which was restricted to structures in South Mumbai. Besides structures of heritage value in the suburbs,the new list also recommended heritage listing for key open spaces,statues and bridges. While the civic administration has taken approval from the then municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak,it has yet to call for public objections and suggestions to the list.

Civic officials claimed inadequate administrative set-up and lack of staff in the municipal architect department has led to the delay. “We have recently started the process to update the list of these structures as many of them might have been demolished,sold,altered etc. The list will then be open for public suggestions and objections,following which it will be sent to the state government for approval. This will take at least another six months,” said a senior civic official.

Uma Adusumilli,chief of MMRDA planning division,which had initiated the survey of such structures,said: “It is high time that these structures are notified so that due protection is ensured by law to such structures.”