Mumbai Boosts Heritage Preservation With BMC Grant
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has earmarked ₹75 lakh in its 2026-27 municipal budget to support the heritage-listed Asiatic Library, a landmark cultural and research institution in South Mumbai’s Fort precinct. The allocation signals renewed civic attention on preserving heritage assets that anchor the city’s collective memory and intellectual history in the face of rapid urban transformation.
The grant — part of a larger city budget that prioritises infrastructure, education, environment, and cultural preservation — is intended to bolster operational costs, including acquisition of books and artefact maintenance, amid ongoing concerns about resource adequacy at the library. Although smaller than the institution’s broader funding requests, the allocation is likely to provide fiscal breathing room for daily functioning and heritage conservation efforts.Founded in the 19th century, the Asiatic Library holds a rich collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps and archival materials that reflect Mumbai’s layered history and the wider Indian subcontinent’s scholarly traditions. In recent years, stakeholders have underscored the dual challenges of ageing infrastructure and constrained staffing, which have put pressure on the library’s ability to manage its vast repository with rigour and care — particularly for fragile collections that require specialised conservation.
Urban historians and heritage planners say the BMC’s decision arrives at a critical juncture for civic culture in Mumbai, where rapid redevelopment often places pressure on heritage institutions and precincts. While much of recent civic investment has focused on transport, sanitation and digital infrastructure, targeted allocations for cultural heritage can help anchor community identity and public engagement with the city’s past.However, experts caution that one-time grants alone may not address deeper structural challenges faced by heritage institutions. Comprehensive heritage financing, long-term operational subsidies, and partnerships with academic and philanthropic bodies are often necessary to ensure collections are preserved, catalogued and made accessible to researchers, students and the public. Several heritage advocates have been pushing for a systematic heritage fund in urban budgets to protect key libraries, archives and museums vulnerable to neglect.
Local stakeholders also point to the role of the Asiatic Library as a public good beyond its historical assemblage. In an era where digital access co-exists with demand for experiential urban learning spaces, well-resourced libraries can act as inclusive learning hubs that support scholarship, public discourse and cultural continuity. These functions, advocates argue, align closely with Mumbai’s identity as a cosmopolitan city with deep literary and scholarly roots.
The civic budgetary grant is expected to be supplemented by state and central support, as well as potential private and philanthropic contributions. Forward-looking heritage planning would ideally integrate such libraries more fully into urban cultural circuits, enabling them to contribute to education, tourism and community engagement without compromising their core research missions.
