Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has appointed renowned architect Hafeez Contractor to design the new Bombay high court complex at Bandra East, after the previous model designed by the state public works department (PWD) was disapproved by both the judiciary and the state bureaucracy.
The state government then held a competition to pick architects for the project, after which Contractor was selected. Confirming this, PWD’s chief architect Chetan Akre said, “We have selected Hafeez contractor to design the high court.”
Contractor, 74, is an award-winning architect behind several skyscrapers in India, including The Imperial twin towers in Mumbai. “The final design [of the high court complex] is being finalised,” he told HT.
The new complex will come up over nearly 30 acres in the government colony in Kherwadi, Bandra East. Former chief justice of India, DY Chandrachud, had laid the foundation stone of the new complex in September last year. Back then, PWD officials had said they were planning to build 75 courtrooms in the new complex, in addition to residences for judges, staff quarters, an arbitration and mediation centre, an auditorium, a library, and amenities for staff, lawyers and litigants.
A new complex for the Bombay high court was necessitated due to a severe space crunch at the existing premises at Fort. While the iconic three-storey Gothic building, constructed in 1878, was meant to house 15 judges and six to seven courts, it currently houses 29 courts manned by 35 judges. The overall sanctioned strength of judges, meanwhile, has climbed to 94 and many courts are housed in rooms that were earlier used as offices.
After considering land at the Mumbai Port Authority, Goregaon and Wadala, the high court zeroed in on the government colony in Bandra, which is spread across 90 acres and located close to the Bandra Kurla Complex and the Western Express Highway. Many of the judges who reside at Malabar Hill will be able to reach the new complex via the new Mumbai Coastal Road and Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
The government colony originally had 370 buildings with over 4,700 flats, constructed between 1958 and 1973. Since many buildings were located near a creek, they became corroded and cracks appeared over time. The state government has already demolished 68 of these buildings. There are now 302 buildings with 4,244 flats, of which 2,623 are in use.
The state government is handing over the 30 acres of land for the new complex in a phased manner. On the remaining 60 acres of the government colony, it plans to build 12 highrises of 16 storeys each. Two buildings are ready and have part occupation certificates, while the rest are being constructed. “Due to certain norms, we will be able to construct only 10 highrises instead of 12 in this phase,” said PWD officials.
Next on the anvil is constructing 46 flats for Class 1 government officers and 72 for Class 2 officers. Three news buildings, intended for Class 3 and Class 4 staff, have got part occupation certificates.