13-storey building coming up in south Mumbai for key police offices

MUMBAI: A swanky highrise is being constructed at a cost of Rs 134 crore at Byculla to accommodate some of Maharashtra Police's key offices. It is expected to be ready in March 2024. Multiple floors will be allocated for the anti-terrorism squad's (ATS) headquarters.
The upcoming highrise at Bawla Compound on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road will have a stilt level, two levels of podium and 13 storeys. It will be the tallest police administrative building in the city; the new office at the police commissionerate in Crawford Market is six-storeyed.
It will also house offices of the state traffic and highway police, DCPs of zone III & port zone and the additional CP (central region) besides regional control rooms. Deliberations are on to accommodate a few other special agencies.
South Bombay highrise for police replaces colonial era buildings
The highrise being constructed in Byculla to accommodate some key offices of Maharashtra Police will be ready in March 2024. The plot, located at Bawla Compound on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, has an interesting history. In 1933, Sir Patrick Kelly, the then chief of police, credited with modernising the force, laid the foundation stone for a school. A plaque that stood at the site said the school had been funded from the trust of Haji Gulam Mahomed Ajam who also funded other educational institutions in Maharashtra.
In recent years, the deputy police commissioner (zone III) office, a regional control room and the additional commissioner of police (central region) office functioned out of Bawla Compound. Their offices have been torn down to make way for the high-rise. The police department has felt the need for a centrally located administrative building for many of its agencies that have branches spread all over. "As manpower increases, having all the branches under one roof would help in better coordination," said police historian Deepak Rao, whose book 'Mumbai Police' features Bawla Compound. "The building will follow green norms. A solar plant will be set up and a sewage treatment plant will also come up," said a senior IPS officer.
Solar energy will be used for lighting common areas of the building. The building will have parking facilities and conference halls. Space will also be created to temporarily accommodate reserve forces that come from all over the state in large numbers during special bandobasts in Mumbai, such as major festivals and key events. Archana Tyagi, additional director general of police, Maharashtra state police housing and welfare corporation, confirmed the development to TOI.