As Unesco honours historic Maratha forts, 5 in Mumbai crumble in silence despite storied military legacy

The story of Riwa Fort is not unique. In July this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) granted World Heritage status to 12 forts under the collective concept of the ‘Maratha Military Landscape of India’. Eleven of them are located across Maharashtra’s Raigad, Pune, Satara, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur, Sindhudurg, and Nashik districts, while one stands in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district.

Kalla killa (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Mumbai, too, is home to six forts of historical and military importance. Of these, five – Riwa, Sewri, Worli, Mahim, and Bandra – fall under the custody of the state’s Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, while the Sion Fort is overseen by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Like the newly recognised Maratha forts, the six in Mumbai also boast a storied military legacy, with links stretching from Yadava ruler Raja Bimba and Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to the Portuguese colonists, the East India Company, and even the Seven Years’ War of the 18th century.

Worli fort (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Yet, as a recent visit by The Indian Express revealed, five of Mumbai’s six forts are in a precarious state, Riwa Fort included. Records from the state government, along with responses to Right to Information (RTI) queries filed by The Indian Express, confirm the neglect: most of these forts have seen no restoration or conservation efforts in more than a decade.

The forts and their present-day condition

The origins of the Riwa Fort, which stands at the heart of Dharavi’s slums, date back to the 18th century. Just above the Archaeology Department’s information plaque is a nearly defaced inscription that proclaims the fort’s history, “Built by order of the Honorable Horn Esq President and Governor of Bombay in 1737.” According to records, John Horne served as the 19th Governor of the erstwhile Bombay between 1734 and 1739.

In the 18th century, Dharavi was a marshland on the banks of the Mithi River (Mahim Creek), separating the British-controlled seven islands – Isle of Bombay, Colaba, Little Colaba, Mazagaon, Parel, Worli, and Mahim – from the Portuguese-held Salsette Island. Salsette comprised what is now Mumbai’s dense suburban belt between Dahisar and Bandra.

Bandra fort (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

“The seven islands, which were initially under Portuguese control, were handed over to the British as part of the famous dowry to King Charles II of England in 1665. Following this, between 1672 and 1692, the British were attacked by the Dutch, Mughals and Siddis of Janjira. This prompted the British to strengthen their fortifications and in 1737, the administration commissioned the construction of the Riwa Fort,” said Sandeep Dahisarkar, archaeologist and author.

Today, the fort stands in a dilapidated state. There are no defined entry or exit points, which historians say is because it functioned as a military watchtower overlooking the Sion Fort.

Local residents have built makeshift stairs to reach the upper deck, where some have set up poultry farms. The floors and walls appear unstable, with stone slabs jutting out. Ropes are strung across the deck for drying clothes.

“The slum pockets are very congested, so we don’t get sunlight here very easily. Therefore, we put our clothes for drying at the deck of the fort after washing them,” said Shanti Mishra, 49, a Dharavi resident of over two decades. Living adjacent to one of the staircases that leads to the upper deck, she added that in winter, local residents also use the fort for drying lentil dumplings and pickles.

“Often, tour guides bring tourists over here to show this place, so we know for a fact that this structure has importance. However, nobody has ever restricted us from using this fort for our chores,” Mishra added.

Seven kilometres away, at Mumbai’s western shoreline, stands the Mahim Fort. Believed to date back to the 13th century, it is considered the oldest of the city’s surviving forts. Declared a State Protected Monument in 1975 and given Grade I heritage status, it nevertheless became heavily encroached. Until 2022, as many as 276 families lived illegally inside its precincts.

That year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), acting on state government orders, relocated the families. Since then, the fort has been closed to the public, but its condition remains precarious. Walls are corroded, sections of the boundary wall have collapsed, and the main entrance is unstable.

“Since people would live inside earlier, miscreants wouldn’t gather here. Now that the entire place is empty, people would come and gather here at night. After the local residents raised this issue with the police, the fort was shut down,” said a local resident.

Authorities note that decades of unauthorised alterations, including the destruction of staircases and bunkers, have scarred the structure permanently. Officials also point out that the deterioration accelerated after Independence, with large-scale encroachment beginning in the 1950s.

Across Mahim Bay, facing the Arabian Sea, stands the Worli Fort, dating back to the 16th century. Its black, rectangular form offers an unhindered view of the coast and has often been used as a backdrop in Hindi films. Yet the site is heavily encroached.

Inside, a small temple has been established by local residents, while duplex slum units have been built directly onto its outer walls. The fort’s decks and basements double as drying and storage areas for the nearby fishing community. Approaching the fort is also difficult: it lacks a direct road and can only be reached via a narrow kutcha road from the Worli Koliwada bus stop.

On the city’s eastern edge stands the Sion Fort, built in the 17th century atop a hillock near the railway station. The fort, a Grade I heritage structure, houses the regional office of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at its base. Unlike other forts, it has no encroachments, but its condition remains poor, with walls and floors weakened by time. Stone blocks are coming loose in several areas, and the structure shows signs of neglect.

About five kilometres away, overlooking the creek and the newly built Atal Setu, is the Sewri Fort, also from the 17th century. Here, some hope of revival exists. The state Archaeology Department has initiated restoration work, and when The Indian Express visited, the site was closed to the public as repairs were underway. Floors and roofs were being reinforced, while the southern wall, described by contractors as being “on the verge of collapse,” was also slated for repair.

In contrast, the Bandra Fort in the western suburbs stands in relatively better condition. Built by the Portuguese in the 17th century, it has been partially restored and was reopened to the public last year, making it one of the few forts in Mumbai to see any significant conservation effort.

No maintenance, lack of manpower

Despite their historical significance, Mumbai’s forts remain in precarious condition. Records from the state Archaeology Department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reveal that no comprehensive maintenance plan has been implemented for conserving these structures.

In an RTI response to The Indian Express, the state archaeology department admitted that no maintenance work had been carried out at the Worli and Mahim forts between 2014 and 2025.

Another RTI reply showed that in 2019, the department allotted Rs 84 lakh for the restoration and conservation of the Riwa Fort in Dharavi. However, only basic cleaning of the fort’s decks could be undertaken before the project stalled.

“There is a big tree that has grown from the cracks of the fort, and we had to cut it down in order to go ahead with the maintenance work. However, the BMC didn’t give us permission to take down the tree, stating that it will be dangerous. Meanwhile, the entire periphery of the fort was encroached and they didn’t show any cooperation. We couldn’t start work for more than two years and as a result, the project was shelved,” Tejas Garge, Director of the state Archaeology Department, said.

“For the Mahim and Worli forts, no work could be taken up in several decades because these forts have been fully encroached. The department doesn’t have the manpower or authority to relocate or penalise them. This is the work of the local police and the urban local body. Unless the area is cleared, we can’t take up any work,” Garge added.

Government records show that in 2023, the department allocated around Rs 8.63 crore for restoring the Sewri Fort, a project currently underway.

“The Sewri Fort is a success story that is in the making. We tried to restore it partially in 2007, but it was not enough as several portions of the fort started to crumble again. As a result, we have already proposed a restoration plan by tying up with private players under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. As part of this project, we aim to conserve the fort in its entirety by repairing its dilapidated portions. The entire fort precinct will be illuminated so that open air events like exhibitions can be held here,” Garge added.

Yet, beyond this, state documents show no dedicated maintenance budget for Mumbai’s other forts.

Meanwhile, RTI responses from the ASI reveal that between 2014 and 2024, the agency undertook repair work at the Sion Fort only four times. Over the past decade, no dedicated budget was earmarked for its upkeep.

Between 2014 and 2017, the ASI spent Rs 10.54 lakh on restoring parts of the fort. Later, between 2023 and 2024, it spent another Rs 5.83 lakh on repairing a bastion and the walls. In 2023–24, Rs 38 lakh was allocated for storage facilities and a boundary wall, but no separate provision was made for ongoing maintenance.

ASI data shows that in 2023–24, the Union Ministry of Culture allocated Rs 15.06 crore to the ASI’s Mumbai Circle, which oversees 117 monuments. In 2022–23, the allocation was Rs 14.85 crore, and in 2021–22, it stood at Rs 12 crore.

“Since there is no budget specifically allocated for the maintenance of certain monuments, we need to think carefully before spending. A larger portion of this annual budget is being marked for maintenance of monuments of national importance or ticketing spots like Raigad Fort and Janjira Fort,” said an ASI official.

“Funds are spent on monuments which generate revenue. For forts like Sion, we need to seek funds as per requirement by placing a proposal to the ASI headquarters in New Delhi, whenever there is a need. The ASI strengthens the infrastructure of forts that garner tourist importance. Unfortunately, the Sion fort is not popular among tourists and it is the local administration’s responsibility to popularise this spot,” the official added.

A senior official from the state archaeology department also underlined budgetary and staffing challenges. “There is not only a paucity of funds but also manpower. Out of the six posts of additional director of Archaeology in Maharashtra, only two are occupied,” the official said.

The official added that for the ongoing financial year, the department was allotted a budget of Rs 400 crore, compared to Rs 196 crore the previous year. “The budget that is allocated to this department is entirely notional. Even after allocation, we need to seek approval from the Finance Department for utilising the money. This is not the case for other departments. Therefore, the restoration projects that are taken up in Mumbai are being implemented through CSR,” the official explained.

Why is it important to protect these forts?

Historians and conservation architects stress that these forts are of immense importance. Preserving them could shed light not only on Mumbai’s colonial history but also on its medieval past, long before colonial annexation.

Archaeologist Dahisarkar said the origins of Mahim Fort date back to the era of Raja Bimba Yadava, an early medieval ruler of the North Konkan region from the Yadava dynasty. The capital of this region was Mahim-Bimbasthan, now modern-day Mahim. He added that fragments of temples from the Shilahara-Yadava period were also discovered around Mahim Fort and are now kept below the façade of the Mahim police station.

“Now that the Mahim Fort is free from encroachment, the authorities, with the help of the Archaeology Department, should carry out a systematic excavation of the spot which may throw more light on the medieval period,” Dahisarkar said.

He further explained that in 1689, Aurangzeb’s general Yakut Khan Siddi commanded the Mughal fleet from Janjira that besieged Bombay in 1689–1690, forcing the East India Company to pay a heavy fine. During this assault, the first fort attacked and captured was Sewri. Khan then extended his conquest over the Sewri region up to Mazagaon.

“After the fall of the Peshwas, the land around it became part of the British Empire. So it was used as a jail during the colonial regime in the 18th century and later as a storehouse… After that, it was used as a godown, and the port which is next to the fort is called Tank Bunder,” he added.

Dahisarkar also highlighted Worli Fort’s connection to the Seven Years’ War in the 18th century, when Great Britain and Prussia fought against France and Austria. “During the seven years of war, tensions grew between the British and France. There were canons being set up to protect the boundaries of the shoreline,” he stated.

Meanwhile, archaeologist, historian, and culinary anthropologist Kurush F Dalal said, “These forts were constructed at a time when the city of Mumbai was divided into seven different islands. The forts were constructed at the points which overlooked the sea, and if you join the dots today, you will get an idea of the original city of Mumbai.”

Conservation architect Pankaj Joshi stressed the need for a sustainable strategy. “First and foremost, the state government needs to come up with an effective tourism plan. If the fort doesn’t generate revenue, then the administration will not spend any money on it. So, the authorities need to find out a plan to not only conserve but also monetise these properties,” Joshi said.

“Another important aspect is that the administration needs to come up with a maintenance budget. At present, there is no maintenance budget proposed for taking care of these forts,” he added.

What lies ahead

Archaeology Department director Garge said the state government is preparing to publish a ‘Fort Adoption’ policy, which will allow private stakeholders to adopt a fort.

“Stakeholders can adopt a fort for a particular time period, and may be able to restore it under CSR, while the ownership of the property stays with the state. Various schemes could also be taken up to generate revenue for maintenance of these structures,” Garge said.

At the same time, senior officials of the BMC confirmed that the civic body will take over the responsibility of preserving and conserving the Mahim Fort.

“Our idea is to conserve the fort in its entirety. The BMC has already spent its resources to remove the encroachments even though the civic body doesn’t own the structure. Therefore, it is fair for the process that there is only one agency taking care of the project,” said Vinayak Vispute, Assistant Municipal Commissioner.

He added that while the fort is currently owned by the Customs Department, the BMC will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them to formally take over.