Cultural Heritage board: Museum plan will hit CSMT's heritage tag

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal visited the all-women Matunga station on Sunday

During his visit to the city on Sunday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that the railway board had prepared a proposal to convert the existing Mumbai CSMT building into a museum and that they had to appoint a consultant for it. However, he said that he was yet to see the report and refused to say anything further on the matter. According to railway officials, a report submitted by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to the board last week has listed out a number of hurdles that the transformation would face and if it's done without consulting the UNESCO, the station might lose its world heritage status tag.

Visiting the all-woman Matunga station, Goyal said that he was yet to see the proposal prepared by the board and refused to elaborate further on the matter. However, railway sources said that a report by INTACH stated that the UNESCO had become extremely strict about alterations to world heritage sites. The report further stated that it was important to inform UNESCO about the intention to convert the site into a museum and prepare a heritage impact assessment report on the matter. It also said that it was equally important to approach the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) for relevant permissions.

In addition to this, railway trade unions and employees have also vehemently opposed the conversion of the building, which currently houses the Central Railway headquarters. The cost involved in relocating the headquarters office has also become a matter of concern.

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