Residents oppose heritage tag for Shivaji Park building

Doctor Arun Chitale (75) and businessman Damodar Nayak (63),co-owners of the Penso Villa located diagonally opposite Krishna Kunj,the residence of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray,have questioned the rationale behind labeling the precinct as a Grade-I heritage structure.

“It makes no sense,” said Nayak. “Buildings like the museum are Grade- I heritage structures. Do you think my building can be compared to such buildings? If that is the case,I would be very proud,” Nayak said.

“This petition is not only for my building. It is in good condition and may stand for several more years but there are many other buildings in Shivaji Park that need repair. How is it going to be possible if they are classified as Grade-I heritage structures?” he said.

In their petition,Chitale and Nayak have stated that as there are no lifts in the buildings,senior citizens find it difficult to climb up the higher floors. While Nayak stays on the first floor and has another apartment on the fourth floor,Chitale,who has undergone a bypass surgery,lives on the second floor.

The petition states that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Heritage Conservation Society established by MMRDA engaged consultants to survey structures in the city. The petitioners cited information obtained under the Right to Information Act and stated that eight persons — students of architecture or junior architects — were appointed to survey heritage structures. They identified 588 buildings and precincts to be recommended for heritage listing,the petitioners said.

“It is seen from the study report prepared for the Shivaji Park precinct that the survey of the entire area comprising 187 buildings was conducted by only two persons and the report contained only six photographs [out of which two were of the same building and a mere four liner information about the value of the area necessitating its listing as heritage precinct,” the petitioners claimed.

In the petition filed through lawyer Sanjay Kadam,the residents of the four-storey building with wooden staircases have stated that most of the buildings are well past their life-span and in need of repair. Moreover,the buildings do not have sufficient open spaces between them,which leads to paucity of parking space. The civic and infrasturcture amenities in the area are age-old. “Political meetings and rallies at the Shivaji Park ground,religious processions,etc. add to the gravity of the problems of the residents,” the petition states.

“Not only the petitioners and their tenants,but many other property owners and tenants have been eagerly looking for redevelopment of their properties,so that all the inconveniences and hardships that they have been suffering in the existing buildings would end. However,the proposed listing of Shivaji Park area as heritage precinct has completely diminished the petitioners’ and thousands of other residents’ long cherished hope,” the petition says.