In his defining book on urban renewal Triumph of the City, Harvard professor Edward Glaeser chronicles the debate between heritage and development in New York at the turn of the 19th century. While Manhattan's skyline eventually became integral to New York's world city status, closer home Hong Kong and Singapore faced similar pangs at some point in history, but they struck a fine balance between heritage and development to emerge the shining examples of urban excellence that they are today.

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Glaeser laments the woeful condition of Mumbai in his book, saying that archaic policies and myopic vision have not only stunted the potential of the country's financial capital, but also denied the residents a shot at a better life.

Residents of Marine Drive precinct are representative of such citizens whose lives have been held to ransom by a handful of heritage activists. Urban development experts opine that true heritage should be consistent with the current environment. "Preservation of heritage is certainly important, but it should be in synergy with current social needs, with new urban plans incorporating new technology that can even enhance the heritage," says architect and urban designer Hiten Sethi, adding that there's little sense in preserving a primitive civilization that is not in synergy with modern needs.

Citing the example of his alma mater JJ School of Architecture, Sethi says being a heritage structure, today even installing an air-conditioner involves a long-drawn procedure for permission. "Take for instance the art deco look of Marine Drive, it can be retained with new buildings having facades with the same heritage look, and yet the modern buildings would address all the contemporary needs of the residents," Sethi said, adding that instead of lopsided blanket diktats, development should be taken into perspective for sustainable heritage preservation.

The rigid approach to protecting heritage structures in the city is not only anti-development but can also be a potentially dangerous culture. "Entire areas in places like Lalbaug have been declared heritage sites, without considering their condition," says cluster-development pioneer Kailash Agarwal, chairman of Avighna India, adding that some of the heritage buildings are on the verge of crumbling, but they cannot even be touched for much-needed repairs.

"Tomorrow if they fall and people die, what heritage will we preserve," quips Agarwal, adding that it is all right to earmark two to four buildings in an area to represent the heritage of our city, just like it's done in many leading cities of the world, but having entire areas locked in heritage is regressive.

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