The Bombay High Court stepped in again, for the third time in 12 years, to ensure that the iconic Marine Drive precinct retains its character. The court stayed the guidelines issued in 2023 which permitted the height of the buildings in the second row and beyond behind the Art Deco buildings to rise to 58 metres and above — 15 storeys or higher compared to the 5-6 floor buildings facing the sea. The Art Deco buildings at Marine Drive and Oval were bestowed the status of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The approximately 35 buildings along the sweep of the seafront, built nearly a hundred years ago on reclaimed land, broke away from the then prevailing Victorian or Gothic style to this one, drawing on the modernism and industrial boom but making a hat tip to the sea through various design elements. They made for a uniform skyline till Nariman Point was built which led UNESCO to state that the precinct had a “high degree of integrity in visual, spatial and planning terms”.
The Maharashtra government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have been trying hard to permit tall constructions behind this front row clearly to allow builders to rake in profits. Doing so will mar the Marine Drive visually and permanently wreck one of the most recognised places in the world. It’s only appropriate that the HC rapped the authorities.
