Apart from the legal recourse, the DAE employees had asked several BJP ministers to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting the bungalow declared as a heritage structure.
The Charity Commissioner on Saturday gave the go-ahead to National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) to complete the sale of the iconic Mehrangir bungalow at Malabar Hill, where Dr Homi Bhaba lived. The trust had last year auctioned the property bequeathed to it. The winning bid of Rs 372 crore had come from the Godrej family.
Dr Jamshed Bhabha, brother of Dr Homi Bhaba, had bequeathed the property to NCPA in his will, which was probated by the trust in the High Court. As per the order, the trust has to complete the sale transaction within six months. The Godrej family had, in an earlier litigation before the Bombay High Court, said that it does not intend to demolish the house for at least 15 years; members of the family are likely to use it as their residence.
Employees of the Department of Atomic Energy had opposed the sale and demanded that the property be declared as a heritage site. They had also approached the Bombay High Court, which directed them get the Central government to declare it as a National Monument and then make a representation before the Charity Commissioner.
In June last year, the bungalow was auctioned by the NCPA for Rs 372 crore. The bungalow is spread over an area of 17,550 sq ft. In a statement given then, NCPA had said, "The time has come when NCPA needs to match up to international standards and put India on the global cultural map, and the proceeds from the sale will be used for that. Among the many upgrade plans the NCPA is working on starting an educational institution and create a bank of instruments."
Apart from the legal recourse, the DAE employees had asked several BJP ministers to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting the bungalow declared as a heritage structure.
Recently, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote a letter to the PM, stating that Ram Vitthal Dhuri had made available a survey map as evidence to prove that the iconic bungalow had appeared in the said map surveyed in 1915 and corrected in 1932. On the basis of the map, the CM asked for Meherangir to be declared as a National Monument as it is over 100 years old. There has been no response on the issue from the PM's office.
DAE employees said they would be challenging the Charity Commissioner's order in the High Court. A representative said, "On Monday, we would be getting the detailed order after going through
which, we would approach the HC."
The NCPA refused to comment on the development until it had received a copy of the order.
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