UNESCO recently stripped Liverpool of its World Heritage Site tag owing to large-scale redevelopment that had altered its identity as a “maritime mercantile city”. The city was one of the hubs of the Industrial Revolution and boasted Victorian-era docks and a unique streetscape that paid tribute to its flourishing commercial and naval enterprise. The similarities with Bombay are more than just a coincidence.

In early 2019, this newspaper had run a series of stories when restoration work was underway at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus). During this grand project, the facades and stained glass works of this world-famous landmark were recreated as appalling versions of its original detailing and features. Even the BMC’s Heritage Committee had expressed concern at the time and wrote to the Railways warning that such mindless interventions would adversely affect the character of the site and threaten its UNESCO inscription. For a site that remains one of the world’s most photographed railway stations, and arguably one of Bombay’s glittering heritage icons, designed by FW Stevens and his team back in 1888, it wasn’t its best moment. Since then, restoration work continues in different sections of this Gothic masterpiece, even as new blueprints keep getting added to the mix, including making it a world-class site with better facilities to accommodate the lakhs that utilise its services every day for local and long-distance travel. All with a clear vision of the future, of course, but those at the helm of affairs ought to keep an eye on the very same guidelines that protect the landmark after it secured the UNESCO tag in 2004.