Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai

Mumbai: Three years after the plan was approved by the Cabinet, the state government on Tuesday took over the Air India building at Nariman Point.Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Presided over the deed of surrender between the state Public Works Department and Air India Assets Holding Limited, which owns the building.“This will not only save rent but will also bring together offices,” Fadnavis told TOI. In 2023, the state cabinet had approved a plan to purchase the Air India building to expand the ministry and create state government offices there.The cabinet had decided to waive off all unearned income, transfer charges and other penalties of Air India so that the state government can take possession of the building soon.The state government paid Rs 1,601 crore for the building. The acquisition will provide 46,470 square meters of space for government offices in the 22-storey building.Officials said the state government would save about Rs 200 crore in annual rent if all the offices currently located in private buildings are shifted to the Air India building.Officials said it would take more than six months to make the building usable. The lifts are not working and a lot of interior work needs to be done. Even the central air conditioning system is not working as the building is more than 50 years old.The building opened on June 1, 1970. Designed by Manhattan-based architect John Burgi, it was one of the first centrally air-conditioned skyscrapers in India. The 23-storey tall building had six state-of-the-art elevators with piped music and was the first building in India to install escalators, which took customers from the street to the main booking office.Initially topped by an illuminated metal centaur (Air India’s trademark logo chosen by founder JRD Tata), the building stood as an unmistakable centerpiece of the Marine Drive skyline. It housed the famous Air India Art Collection, which was carefully curated over decades. The building was the target of a series of bombings on March 12, 1993, when a car bomb detonated in the basement garage.In 2022, Fadnavis, who was then the Deputy Chief Minister, met the then Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia And urged them to give priority to the state government for the building. apart from the state government reserve Bank of India (RBI) was said to be in a race to buy the building.Fadnavis had said that the state government was facing shortage of space for government offices in the ministry and annexe buildings. He said, “Met Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in New Delhi and requested to give the Air India building in Mumbai to the state government. At present, even with the ministry and an auxiliary building, the space for government offices is inadequate, hence this building was demanded. We had made this proposal when I was the chief minister.” But in the meantime that proposal was withdrawn. After this we corresponded again. At present, both the Reserve Bank and the Maharashtra government have demanded this space,” Fadnavis had said in a tweet.Officials said the state had leased the sea-facing property to Air India in 1970 for a 99-year tenure. Officials said that as per land transfer rules, the state revenue department was entitled to charge transfer fee (or unearned income) during transfer of lease, which would have been about one-eighth of the market value.“Air India had then also sought exemption from this payment as a special case, which was approved,” an official said.