Sachin Ahir bats for Shivaji Park residents against heritage tag

Minister of state for housing Sachin Ahir on Thursday came out in support of the Shivaji Park residents who are opposed to the idea of declaring the entire area as a heritage precinct. 

The BMC’s proposal to declare the entire area of Shivaji Park as a heritage precinct has angered many residents. The area has around 200 buildings and 10,000 residents.

Speaking to mediapersons, Ahir said that he had held a meeting of the officials of the housing department and also requested the urban development department officials to exempt some of the buildings from areas like the Dadar Hindu Colony since declaration of heritage precincts will stall their redevelopment.

Ahir pointed out that these buildings are not historical buildings and some of them are just identical. If they are put on the heritage list, then there cannot be any development of those buildings. The minister added that if there is a heritage part only that can be left intact and the rest can be chosen for redevelopment.

He also stated a decision on the cluster development has to be taken by the chief minister.

Besides, Ahir informed that there is a proposal for including buildings built in the last 30 years in the cluster development policy. 

The Heritage Grade-I precinct tag will stall any kind of development in the area and no interventions will be permitted either on the exterior or interiors of heritage buildings. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had recently said that Mumbai’s cluster development model would be replicated in Thane and Navi Mumbai region. The revised cluster development will have to accept by the state government.