33-storey tower planned on site of Mumbai's notorious Pratibha building at Breach Candy

The Pratibha Cooperative Housing Society in South Mumbai, which made headlines in 1984 over a major construction approval scandal, is now ready for redevelopment. A 33-storey, 179.4-metre tower is planned in its place. It is proposed in the upscale Breach Candy area, near Sophia College, and will have residential apartments along with recreational facilities.

Developer Crest Residency has presented an outline of the building's proposed layout. The layout has received clearance from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).

The proposed tower will have a basement, then ground and mezzanine floors, six podium levels and an amenity floor. Residential apartments will occupy the eighth to the 32nd floors, while the 33rd floor will have recreational facilities and a fitness centre.

Under the redevelopment, a single-storey bungalow on the plot will also be demolished. According to reports, original society members could get apartments of about 3,300 square feet in the new tower.

On court cases, the MCZMA said some matters related to the property were pending. Crest Residency says no court order has stayed the project. The developer also said no litigation proceedings or complaints related to environmental violations are pending.

Turning to the earlier controversy, the original 36-storey Pratibha building came into the news in 1984, when the then Mumbai Collector Arun Bhatia examined the building approval and found irregularities in the stated plot area.

The builder is said to have shown the plot area as more than 9,282 square metres, while the actual area was 7,197 square metres. This inflated figure allegedly yielded 27,000 square feet of extra floor space.

After legal proceedings, in the mid-1990s the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) declared the top eight floors illegal and demolished them, leaving the tower with 28 floors. The rest of the structure stood for more than two decades and was fully demolished in February 2019, clearing the site for redevelopment.

Bhatia later said he was transferred soon after exposing the alleged irregularities. Former civic chief Sharad Kale also recalled that land records had been altered. According to him, a Revenue Department official was jailed.

Despite its controversial history, the building drew wealthy buyers, including high-net-worth individuals, non-resident Indians and private companies. Well-known playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle are reported to have been among its original buyers.

The redevelopment plan kept getting delayed. In 2012 the housing society invited bids for the property at a reserve price of Rs 900 crore, but reportedly no buyer came forward at that valuation. There was also a rumour that Breach Candy Hospital wanted to expand its premises. The proposed 179.4-metre tower will now give the site a new identity, replacing a building remembered for one of Mumbai's biggest construction controversies with a modern residential development.