Taking one more step towards restoring the 800-year-old Mahim Fort in Mumbai, the Customs department on Thursday completed the final demarcation of the fort premises—a crucial step before the restoration work begins. “The proposal for demarcating the fort premises was officially floated by the Customs department, and the procedure was completed yesterday. In this process, we get to know the total area of the property along with the boundaries and overall structural layout. Based on this, the restoration plan will be prepared and tenders for the work will be floated,” Vinayak Vispute, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, told The Indian Express on Friday. Located at the southern edge of Mahim Beach, the Mahim Fort’s origin dates back to the 13thcentury. A Grade I heritage structure, the fort, which is currently dilapidated, is under the jurisdiction of the Customs department. Though the state archaeological department had notified it as a protected monument in 1975, no restoration work was carried out, and over time, encroachments took place inside the structure. Recently, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) mooted a proposal to restore the property. Now, the BMC and the Customs department will enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), following which the restoration work will begin. “We have already roped in experts from VJTI [Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute] for a structural audit. There are portions of the fort that need to be evaluated since the structure is close to the sea, and there is a chance of the body getting corroded. This report will also come soon…after which the work will begin,” Vispute stated. When contacted, a senior Customs official said, “The MoU is in the final stage and will be signed next month. We are working on the final act of conditions, which is the last stage before coming up with the final draft.” Meanwhile, by posting a series of tweets, Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Worli and a former minister said it was during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government that the decision of restoring the fort was first taken up. “As tourism minister, along with the @mybmc, we had started off with first the removal of encroachment and then beautification of the Mahim Fort and its vicinity. Back then, we cleaned up and revived the Reti Bunder Beach. However, before we could complete the Mahim Fort restoration, our government was toppled by the BJP using illegal means. We have been raising this issue, reminding the government of this project over the past 3 years, and finally today I read of the minister for tourism visiting the fort and making promises of rejuvenation,” Aaditya said. Encroachments cleared, bid to revive past glory The origin of the Mahim Fort dates back to the era of Raja Bimba Yadava, a ruler in the North Konkan region. The capital of this region was Mahim-Bimbasthan, now known as Mahim. Spread across 3,796 sq m, the Mahim Fort comprises strong walls along with an elevated watchtower-like platform. The basement of the fort was encroached after Independence, and with time, 276 huts were set up inside the structure. As a result, multiple portions of the fort were demolished and altered. Owing to the encroachments, the authorities could not carry out any conservation or restoration work. In September 2021, the administration mooted a proposal to take over the fort and conserve it. Following this, civic authorities initiated correspondence with the state government and the Customs department and the next year, the BMC relocated all the 276 families inside the fort to different locations. Vispute said the encroachers were relocated to Slum Rehabilitation Authority houses, with the BMC spending nearly Rs 60 crore on the alternate accommodation. The BMC has appointed conservation architect Vikas Dilawari for the restoration project. “The idea is to restore the fort to its original form,” he said.
