In race to claim iconic Air India building, state ahead of JNPA, LIC

Mumbai: While the once premier business district of the country Nariman Point may be emptying out, many entities are vying for Mumbai’s iconic Air India (AI) building. In the fray are -- the state government, the Centre-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

In a space-jammed island city, the fight for realty is tangible.

The 23-storey commercial tower, one of Mumbai’s early high-rises, which forms an unwitting backdrop for jolly selfie-lovers on Marine Drive, is owned by Air India Asset Holding Limited, which was created by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation in in 2018, to manage all Air India-owned properties. Nine floors of the building are vacant at present. This is in addition to the 13th floor of the building which has been lying unoccupied for several decades and is considered to be unlucky. Three floors house the offices of GST and eight floors are with the Income Tax. The ground and first floors are with AI. The first floor also houses the airline’s priceless art collection, including works by M F Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, Jatin Das and V S Gaitonde.

In 2019, the state bid ₹1400 crore for AI, while JNPA ₹1375 crore and LIC ₹1200 crore. After the Eknath Shinde-led government assumed office in June, 2022, the state government revised the bid to ₹1600 crore against AI’s ask of ₹2000 crore. JNPA and LIC have not amended their offer.

The state government will soon communicate with AI for a complete vacant possession of the building and once the former agrees, it will make provisions for supplementary demands in the winter session of the state legislature, which begins in Nagpur, from December 19.

A key officer from the state government underlined that it will not buy the building till it is vacant, as the state is not keen to employ agencies for the task. “The AI building, facing Marine Drive, is close to Mantralaya. It’s a convenient location for us,” said the IAS officer. “We will not take it until every single office is vacated. It is located on our land and we want to shift some departments of Mantralaya there.”

When Mantralaya was destroyed in a massive fire in 2012, government renovated it but four departments – public health, medical education, water supply and sanitation, and rural development – continue to operate off the premises. Other departments housed here are also facing shortage of space.

When in power, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) did not pursue the matter. After Shinde came to power, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis chaired two meetings on the issue, the last one on November 5. Fadnavis stated that the state government would convey its intent to the Centre.

After escalating the bid, the state maintains that AI has to pay ₹300 crore as dues to the revenue department. The other two contenders seem to have been left far behind in the race.

The Narendra Modi-led government was of the view that AI building must remain with a government agency. When he was the union shipping minister, Nitin Gadkari had floated the idea of asking JNPA to buy the building as JNPA is a cash-rich organisation and does not have offices Mumbai. It first operated from an office on Free Press Journal Marg and is presently located in Express Towers.

“Now the state government is much ahead in the race,” said an officer of JNPA.

While LIC is headquartered in Yogakshema building, near Mantralaya, it is also facing space crunch – many of its branches and offices still operate from rented properties in south Mumbai. When asked about the LIC bid, chairperson M R Kumar declined to comment, saying “I have no information.”

The Nariman Point building was put up for sale in 2018 as part of asset-monetisation plans. The State Bank of India recently vacated a few floors it occupied. The building measures 4.99 lakh sq feet and has two basements and a tunnel.

In a meeting at Mantralaya, on May 1, 2019, UPS Madan, the then state chief secretary, had placed the government’s terms and conditions to the then Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Kharola and AI’s then Managing Director Ashwani Lohani. At the time AI wanted to retain the topmost floor along with the logo.

That will be relegated to history, given the state’s firm condition of full ownership.

AI trivia

The building came up in 1974.

It was built by John Burgee of New York’s architectural firm, Johnson/Burgee. Burgee was known for his contribution to post-modern architecture.

It is one of the iconic buildings of Mumbai and stands on a prized real estate in Nariman Point, facing the Arabian Sea.

It was one of the targets of the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts – a car bomb exploded in the basement garage of the building on March 12, 1993. Twenty people were killed in the attack and the offices of the Bank of Oman located above the garage were destroyed.

The 13th floor of the building remains unoccupied because of a superstition.