Chief Minister’s office could be relocated to Air India building paving way for the Central Vista project Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has finally become the new owner of the iconic white Air India Building at Nariman Point, with its landmark Centaur logo visible from long distances. Three years after the cabinet granted approval in Nov. 2023, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today presided over a ceremony for the registration of the purchase agreement of the 52-year-old tower that once housed the headquarters of the country’s national carrier Air India. The government bought over the 23-storied building with a built-up area of 46,470 sq metres for Rs 1,601-cr and is now expected to shift several state administration offices there, saving a whopping Rs 200 cr per annum in rentals alone, said officials. The government had also decided to waive off all unearned income and other penalties, totaling to around Rs. 250 cr. on Air India to speed up the building acquisition process. New Chapter The plot for the AI headquarters was allotted by the state government in 1970 on a 99-year lease. It was designed and built by a New York-based architect, John Burgee in 1974 – marking a new chapter in the development of Nariman Point into a swank central business district. Standing at the western entry to Nariman Point Air India Building’s immediate neighbours are the 35-storied The Oberoi luxury hotel and the 25-storied Express Towers, built a few years prior to the Air India headquarters, all facing the picturesque Arabian Sea and serving as the starting point of the “Queen’s Necklace” stretching on to Malabar Hill. The building - which served as a giant screen for some of the evening events of the inaugural Festival of France here in 1989 - was targeted by a massive terror bombing on March 12, 2993, but emerged virtually unscathed from the disaster. Officials indicated that now the building will undergo a thorough structural audit to make it reusable, as certain interiors are not in proper shape, lifts and central air-conditioning are reportedly non-functional, while at least nine floors are fully vacant. When the government first decided to monetise the building around eight years ago there were many who coveted it – Air India, LIC, JNPA and of course the state government – but finally Maharashtra bagged it. Fadnavis, who had met the then Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had urged the Centre to consider the request as the state government was facing a huge space crunch. After a fire engulfed Mantralaya in 2012, several departments like Rural Development, Public Health and Medical Education, Water Supply and Sanitation were shifted to the GT Hospital. These and certain other departments are likely to be shifted to the new acquisition within a year or so – barely a stone’s throw away from the state government’s seat of power, said an official. The Centre had created a company, Air India Assets Holdings Ltd in 2018 to manage all properties owned by Air India, and the building still has some private and central government tenants. Abode for a ‘Maharaja’ In its days of glory, the building was a coveted address with the Air India offices on the upper floors, almost like the royal abode of a Maharajah. It included the airline’s CMD chambers with a special private lift going up just one floor from the reception, affording a breathtaking view of the Mumbai skyline. Among the legends who once occupied the office included Bharat Ratna and the Father of Civil Aviation in India, J. R. D. Tata, who served as the carrier’s Chairman and Managing Director; and later his colleague Russi H. Mody also graced the position. At one point, the Air India building boasted of a priceless collection of art and artefacts, paintings, statues, etc, which were later passed onto to the National Gallery of Modern Art. Central Vista Project The 4.99 lakh square foot building was constructed in 1974 on a plot of land owned by the Maharashtra government. The state government has planned to shift four departments – public health, medical education, water supply and sanitation, along with rural development – to the Air India building in the initial stage. These departments were moved out of Mantralaya to the GT Hospital. A source said the Chief Minister’s office is also likely to be shifted to the Air India building once the state government gets the building’s full control. The state government has also mooted a Central Vista project on the lines of the one in New Delhi. The project is likely to take pace now as the government starts process to occupy the Air India building. “There is ample space in the Air India building to house the Chief Minister’s office. If the CM decides, the state can have its own central vista in future.” At present nine floors of the Air India building are vacant. Three floors house GST offices. The income-tax department has eight floors. The ground and first floors are currently with Air India. The Maharashtra government outbid the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). They had proposals of Rs 1,400 crore and Rs 1,375 crore respectively against Air India’s asking price of Rs 2,000 crore.
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