Mumbai’s first underground art gallery and cafeteria, along with relocated civic utilities, is planned near Lion Gate in Kala Ghoda as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation moves to clear an obstructed pedestrian route in the heritage precinct.
The estimated Rs 28 crore project has received the civic administration’s go-ahead, and the BMC is expected to float a tender soon, according to senior civic officials. The facility will include an art gallery or commercial space, a cafeteria, public toilets and an underground chowky for the civic Solid Waste Management department.
The existing aspirational toilet and SWM chowky near Lion Gate will be demolished and shifted below ground. The BMC plans to replace the above-ground structures with two compact entry blocks equipped with escalators and lifts for access to the underground facility.
The proposed facility will cover 1,668 square metres. Of this, 470 square metres will be allocated to the art gallery or commercial space, 330 square metres to the cafeteria and 255 square metres to the BMC chowky. Another 520 square metres will be used for circulation and services. The plan also includes a 50-square-metre women’s washroom and a 43-square-metre men’s washroom.
A civic official said the project would have escalators for both entry and exit and would be the first facility of its kind in Mumbai. The relocation is intended to free pedestrian space, address the absence of a continuous walkway and improve the visual character of the area around Lion Gate.
The project follows concerns raised about the existing structures obstructing pedestrian movement in one of South Mumbai’s busiest cultural and tourist districts. Corporator Makarand Narwekar had called for the demolition of the toilet and alleged that it had been constructed illegally. He also said the SWM chowky and toilet conflicted with the architectural character of the Kala Ghoda precinct.
According to Narwekar, the civic body had originally planned a footpath measuring between 0.9 metres and 1.5 metres at the location, but that commitment remained unfulfilled. He described the underground relocation as a way to remove the bottleneck and support the BMC’s wider ‘Pedestrian First’ policy.
The facility is also intended to complement the broader heritage precinct masterplan, which includes pedestrianisation and planned underground parking. The BMC’s next formal step is expected to be the tender process for the project.
