city anchor: Online info system gives data on heritage structures

Who owns it?

What is the current state of preservation of that site?

All this data about heritage buildings and precincts in Mumbai,whether public or private,will now be available to citizens at their fingertips. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Heritage Conservation Society (MMR-HCS),set up under the city’s development authority,has launched a new feature — ‘Heritage Information System’ — on its website http://www.mmrhcs.org.in.

“This is an attempt to record history. This can be useful for anyone who wants to acquaint oneself with the heritage of the Mumbai metropolitan region. The government can use it while notifying the heritage list; the citizens can use it to know more about the importance of structures around them,and activists and researchers can use it for factual information. Even tourists can make use of the system,” said Prasad Shetty,secretary to the MMR-HCS.

For instance,if one tries to search for the Colaba police station,the website states that the structure is significant because it is a “grey stone ashlar masonary (sic) clad building,which derives its influence from the Vernacular style of architecture with features such as wooden carved and louvered perforated paneling,wooden verandas and arched openings with prominent keystones,bands”. The website gives specific location,land use and the ownership and says the structure was constructed in 1905,is Grade 2-B in the heritage list and the state of preservation is poor with many additions and alterations having been done in the past.

Shetty said the feature was launched about two weeks ago and the society is currently uploading the information online. “It is a tedious process,but we have already put up nearly 90 per cent of the 1,000-odd sites we had identified in the Mumbai district,” Shetty said,adding these may not be on the list of the state government,but were identified as significant during the MMR-HCS’ internal studies.

The system is designed to give information on heritage structures in Thane,Kalyan-Dombivli,Vasai-Virar,Navi Mumbai,Ulhasnagar,Bhiwandi,etc.