Plans on to conserve Gilbert Hill

MUMBAI: The BMC, along with the collector and state agencies such as Mhada, is working out ways to preserve Andheri’s Gilbert Hill, which is a Grade II heritage structure. A meeting was held between the civic body officials and local MLA Ameet Satam recently to draft measures to for the conservation of the ancient basalt rock structure.
The land on which the rock stands belongs to the collector but it is the BMC that grants permissions for the construction of buildings around it.“There were talks of developing the hill as a tourist spot; for that, the MTDC also comes into the picture. So, we are first deciding the role of individual agencies,” said Sanjay Deshmukh, additional municipal commissioner. Architect P K Das has also prepared a plan for the conservation of Gilbert hill and precinct.
Earlier this month, Satam wrote to the municipal commissioner, warning him of a Malin-like disaster, which wiped out villages at Ambegaon in Pune in July 2014, waiting to happen at Gilbert Hill. “The rock has been endangered by continuous construction activity around it with some constructions projects actually going into the foothills of the rock. As a result a lot of rocks keep falling during monsoon thus creating a huge danger to the lives of thousands of people living at the foothills,” said his letter. But
Satam, who was present at the meeting, said he was keen on developing place into a tourist spot. Welcoming the proposal, Juhu resident Ashoke Pandit of Save Open Spaces NGO said if footfall increases around the hill, encroachments would stop. “The rock has been destroyed to a large extent and immediate steps have to be taken,” said Pandit.
Architect Das said a large open space surrounded the site that should be developed. “This is a very significant rock formation and if developed well, it will attract tourists not only from outside but even Mumbaikars would want to visit it. It’s important to educate people about the heritage of the city as we have somewhere lost the understanding of such natural formations,” said Das.