Maharashtra State directed MHADA to take over the 155-year-old Esplanade Mansion and restore it.

The state finally accepted the nine-year-old recommendation of the Heritage Conservation Committee to obtain the iconic building in Kala Ghoda and to ensure its restoration in an effort to preserve the Esplande Mansion, an architectural landmark that has been reportedly in decay.

In an affidavit filed at the High Court of Bombay on Thursday, the Urban Development Department (UDD) instructed the MAHADA to take over the 155-year-old structure and ensure it has been restored at all costs if the owner has not done so.

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage filed a PIL at Bombay High Court, which was among others were looking to restore the Grade II-A heritage structure which once served as the first luxury hotel in Bombay – The Watson’s Hotel – and is one of the World’s top 100 endangered monuments. The structure is one of the world’s two cast-iron structures.

The affidavit cites a letter of the UDD to the MHADA on September 16 “When the owner does not carry out repairs, MHADA shall consider the acquisition of the building as provided in section 41 of the MHADA Act. MHADA shall inform the government of the action taken.”

Section 41 specifies out the process which must be followed for obtaining a cessed building under the MHADA Act. Therefore, the letter asked MHADA to take a second view from structural heritage engineers. In August, MHADA dismissed the proposal that the heritage building should be renovated and restored, citing its incompetence of spending almost Rs 30 crore needed for it.

In a letter to the government, the vice president of MHADA said it would not be fair to rebuild it using taxpayers’ money since the building has private ownership. MHADA also suggested that an audit report from IIT-Bombay had clearly shown that the building cannot be restored and had to be pulled down. Later they decided to receive a second opinion of the building.

After the state showed a willingness to save the building, the bench identified four pointers: whether the building can be restored, what is needed to be done as the building is privately owned, from where the material for renovation will come and who will bear the restoration cost.

The Court had asked MHADA and the State to respond, if any, and suggested that the bodies themselves will have to make submissions on these four aspects. The case will now be heard on November 18.