New lease of life for Mantralaya

The plan, devised by architect Hafeez Contractor and approved by the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP government last year, will require changes in the Development Control regulations (DC rules) as the new complex envisages Floor Space Index (FSI) more than the current limit. If the DC rules are indeed amended — sources say they will in all likelihood be changed to accommodate the plan — the civic authorities would be inundated with applications for additional FSI from all over South Mumbai.

The foundation stone for the new building was in fact scheduled to be laid on May 1, Maharashtra Day, but objections from a minister of the Nationalist Congress Party has placed the plan on hold. However, the government will go ahead and invite tenders to lease the New Admninistrative Building but will retain possession till the new complex adjacent to Mantralaya is built.

Contractor’s plan, if implemented in toto, will create an additional 1 lakh sq ft to house the government’s numerous departments. This will include extensive renovation of Mantralaya which will in effect double the area from the existing 1 lakh sq ft without raising the height of the building. The proposed new complex adjacent to it will provide another 1 lakh sq ft, which is the same amount of space that will be vacated in the New Administrative Building.

The government then intends to house the Council of Ministers and their respective secretaries in the new building while relocating the remaining departments and offices in the vastly renovated old Secretariat.

To fund the entire plan, the Sena-led government had approached the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for a loan of Rs 100 crore. But the MMRDA refused to oblige, saying that building/renovation of the state Secretariat did not qualify as development work for the city.

The proposal was revived after the Congress-led Democratic Front government took over the reins of the state, when leading financial institutions were approached to see whether they would be interested in leasing out the New Administrative Building for the same amount.

A B Pawar, secretary, Public Works Department, said a policy decision has been taken to lease out the New Administrative Building but no one had yet come forward to accept the proposal. “We shall accommodate all the employees from there in Mantralaya, since we shall get additional 1 lakh sq ft once it is renovated. The proposed six-storey complex will house the chambers of the chief minister, his Cabinet colleagues and their secretaries,” Pawar told Newsline.

On the FSI impasse, Pawar admits that a policy decision would have to be taken to raise the FSI limit for existing buildings as well.