Mumbai’s heritage at risk with no watchdog panel in place

MUMBAI: Your city has no heritage conservation body at the moment. While the term of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee ended last week, neither has a new panel been appointed in its place nor has the outgoing panel’s term been rolled over.
Heritage conservationists say this reflects how the state government treats a subject as vital as heritage conservation.
TOI had reported last week that the three-year term of the heritage panel was drawing to a close.
The city, say activists, is lucky to have art deco and rich architectural style structures besides several heritage precincts, thus necessitating that every attempt be made to have a heritage committee in place at all times.
Highlighting the need for the heritage conservation watchdog, a member of the outgoing panel said, “When there is no heritage committee, people are known to take advantage as they know nobody is monitoring changes that they make or attempt to make to heritage structures.”
Headed by former municipal commissioner V Ranganathan, the panel held its last meeting on Thursday. At this meeting, issues like permission for water-proofing in heritage structures were taken up. The committee also decided to remind the civic body and state urban development department about issues that the committee had earlier asked them to consider.
Ranganathan said that the government is yet to make a decision on a new committee. “However. it is necessary that a new committee be appointed soon without any loss of time as the heritage committee is like a watchdog as regards heritage violations,” he said.
Ranganathan had recently made a presentation about issues required to be considered in the Development Plan 2034 vis-à-vis heritage.
The heritage committee appointed in 2012 was cobbled up after a year’s delay. During that time too, the city had no heritage committee in place.
Meher Rafat, trustee of NAGAR, a non-governmental organization, said that the city’s rich heritage needs to be given its worth. “The least that the government could have done was to give an interim extension to the committee that held office until last week till a one could be appointed.”