Government of Maharashtra Will Purchase The Iconic Air India Building For INR 1601 Cr

The 22-floored Air India Building in Nariman Point, which has witnessed the transformation of the Mumbai city's reclaimed southern tip into one of Asia's largest and most expensive financial districts, will now house several departments of the Maharashtra government, which has agreed to pay 1,601 crore for the structure.

The building is a towering symbol of Mumbai's renowned resilience against both manmade and natural disasters.

In this 22-story building, more than 46,470 square metres (over 500,000 square feet) of space will be made available for government offices and Mantralaya would waive any applicable penalties as per the state government statement.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde presided over the Wednesday cabinet meeting at which the decision to acquire the property was reached.The white facade of the five-decade-old structure, which overlooks the arched Queen's Necklace along India's western water margin, was among the structures damaged in the serial explosions that ravaged Mumbai thirty years ago.

The administrative office of the Maharashtra government is in close proximity to the prestigious property, which is situated in a strategic location. A multitude of Maharashtra entities have been dispersed in distant locations subsequent to a fire that broke out at one of their properties. 

With the Air India building in possession, the rental costs for these offices, which exceed 200 crore, will be eliminated. As a result of the fire at Mantralaya in 2012, four critical departments of the state government are now operating from alternative departmental offices. GT Hospital, situated in close proximity to the CST railway station, houses the operations of the water supply and sanitation, medical education, and public health departments.

The rural development division is situated in the Marzban Road office of the public works department, in close proximity to Deutsche Bank in Fort. It is probable that these departments, along with a few others, will be relocated to the Air India property.