Panvel’s new civic HQ: A green marvel of civic architecture

If all goes according to plan the Panvel Municipal Corporation PMC will have its impressive building by 2025 with an estimated expenditure of approximately Rs 250 crore The corporation has already acquired about 5 acres of land in Panvel from CIDCO for Rs 28 crore and plans to invest another approximately Rs 220 crore in civil and interior works for the ecofriendly green building equipped with stateoftheart facilities PMC established in 2016 was previously the oldest municipal council in the country formed on August 25 1852 The new building will also feature a museumart gallery on the rooftopOver 172 years of existenceldquoThe initial notification for converting PMC to Municipal Corporation came in 1991 but was never finalised After rapid urbanisation post2000 Panvel Municipal Council was eventually upgraded to Municipal Corporation in 2016rdquo said Sanjay Katekar executive engineer projects of PMC The existing Panvel corporation building a ground plus two floors structure is over 70 years old and covers an area of 17000 square feet located at Swami Nityanand Road PanvelSpace crunchA groundplus threefloor structure with a glass faccedilade was constructed a few decades ago to accommodate additional staff but it couldnrsquot meet the needs of the present staff of around 700 plus people Hence many departments are operating from different offices in the vicinity Also the strength of the staff is expected to go up to 2100 in coming yearsLand cost paid to CIDCOldquoWe acquired around 5 acres of land three years ago for approximately Rs 28 crore from CIDCO The place is located close to the MumbaiPune Highway and is easily accessiblerdquo said Katekar Regarding the design of the new structure Katekar said ldquoWe have taken inspiration from existing corporation buildingsrsquo designs including MiraBhayander and NMMC Interestingly our architect and interior designers Ms Hiten Sethi and Associates are the ones who also designed the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation NMMC building The civil contract for constructing the building was awarded to Nasikbased firm Ms Harsh Constructionrdquo ldquoThe entire construction including interior and land cost amounts to approximately Rs 250 crorerdquo Katekar statedConstruction work onConstruction work commenced in June 2023 and is expected to be completed by December 2025 The building will cover an area of 408063 square feet and will include basement parking lifts workstations for department heads a record room common areas for visitors and various halls for meetings and events ldquoWe sought all the required permissions including the environmental airport authority and even the fire NOC before the commencement of the constructionrdquo added KatekarPMC commissioner speaksldquoI am confident that the new structure would be a swanky green building designed for energy efficiency and sustainabilityrdquo said Ganesh Deshmukh Commissioner and Administrator of Panvel Municipal Corporation ldquoFor a Municipal council to function over 160plus years ago itself makes it historic and hence our new building will have a museumart galleryrdquo added DeshmukhResident SpeakldquoItrsquos a good move that PMC is constructing a new buildingrdquo said Mangal Kamble founder president of Swach Kharghar Foundation ldquoResidents have been raising concerns about air pollution from the Taloja area and itrsquos crucial that the authorities take appropriate actionrdquo expressed P Rijesh a resident of RoadpaliArchitect SpeakldquoThe architectural design of a cityrsquos municipal headquarters is more than just a physical structure it embodies the values aspirations and identity of the city itselfrdquo said Hiten Sethi Architect of Ms Hiten Sethi and Associates ldquoWhen I was approached for the design of PMC my vision was to seamlessly integrate a civic masterpiece resonating on a national scale Drawing inspiration from the timeless Lion Capital of Ashoka the design should exude timeless grace Just picture four united lions symbolizing the four Noble Truths their vigilant gaze epitomising unwavering vigilancerdquo Hiten addedRs 250 crCost of the project