Though it had become increasingly unsafe, the authorities did little to repair or restore Esplanade Mansion. It was only in July 2018, after one person was killed when a portion of the building’s balcony collapsed, that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority finally began evacuating tenants from the building. By then, it said that the building was “beyond repair”.

In May, structural auditors from the Indian Institute of TechnologyBombay released a report recommending demolition as the most prudent course of action for Esplanade Mansion. Attempting structural repairs, the report said, would be dangerous, illogical and economically unviable, given building’s condition. On June 5, the Bombay High Court drove home the finality of the demolition decision by asking the Maharashtra housing authority to list all the safety precautions it would take while bringing down the structure.

The IIT-B report triggered shock, dismay and several debates among historians, architects, engineers and heritage conservationists in the city.While some support demolition and others believe Esplanade Mansion could still be restored and saved, experts agree on one point: if government and civic authorities do not provide encouragement or incentives to help people maintain lived-in heritage structures,1 Mumbai will lose a lot more of its built heritage.

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• 1. The Maharashtra Rent Control Act of 1999 has often been blamed for the deterioration of old “cessed” buildings in Mumbai, because the restricted rent it allows is not enough for landlords to maintain heritage structures. Instead, tenants pay a small cess into a repair fund maintained by the housing authority – but its actions are often ineffective. When these buildings are demolished and redeveloped, they are allowed higher FSI or floor space index, which means that the building can be much taller than before.