MUMBAI: The proposed 179.4-metre skyscraper, which will replace Pratibha, will comprise a basement, ground and mezzanine floors, six podium floors, an amenity floor, and residential floors from the 8th to the 32nd.The 33rd floor will house recreational facilities and a fitness centre, according to developer Crest Residency. The skyscraper will be more than twice as tall as Rajabai Clock Tower.Built over 40 years ago, 36-floor Pratibha was demolished in Feb 2019 and the site levelled. A one-level bungalow on the plot will also be razed. While MCZMA noted that certain court matters were pending in connection with the plot, the developer clarified there was no restraining order from any court and no litigation or complaints for environmental violations. The Pratibha scam first hit the headlines in 1984 when the then Mumbai collector Arun Bhatia conducted an audit of building sanctions. It was found that the original builder had falsely declared the plot’s area as over 9,282 sq m as against the actual, 7,197 sq m.The false declaration helped the builder gain additional floor space of 27,000 sq ft. The top eight floors of the 36-storey tower were declared illegal and demolished by the BMC in the mid-1990s. In 2019, the remaining 28 floors of the building were pulled down.
Each floor contained two sprawling flats. Among the original buyers were high net worth individuals, NRIs, and private firms, besides playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. Some years ago, Bhatia, now retired, told TOI that he was transferred soon after he exposed the scandal. “There were many officers involved, but I don’t know if anyone was ever punished,” he said.The late civic chief Sharad Kale, during whose tenure the BMC demolished the last of the eight illegal floors, had told TOI that the architect had altered land records. “As far as I can recollect, the superintendent of land records of the revenue department was jailed,” he had said. In 2012, the society invited bids, with a reserve price of Rs 900 crore, for the entire property. It was rumoured that Breach Candy Hospital was interested in expanding its premises. But as it turned out, there were no takers at that price.
