Maharashtra government has purchased the famous Air India Building in Mumbai from Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL) for Rs 1,601 crore. It is expected that this step will help many departments of the state government to solve the long standing problem of shortage of space. The state government plans to shift many of its offices to the Air India Building. Many of these offices are currently functioning from rented spaces across Mumbai. The Public Works Department (PWD) will do the work of repairing the interior of the building and its aim is to make the building ready for use within a year. With this purchase, the government will get about 46,470 square meters of office space near the ministry (the administrative headquarters of the state).
Government’s problem will be solved
There was a shortage of office space in the ministry and its annex building for many years. This problem became even more serious after a major fire in the Ministry premises in 2012, due to which many departments had to move out from there. Since then, many government offices have been functioning from different locations in Mumbai, some of which are far away from the state secretariat. The government was also paying a lot of rent for these offices. The central government had approved the sale of Air India Building in 2024. After this, in November 2025, the Maharashtra Cabinet gave its approval to this purchase. It is expected that with this purchase many departments will come closer to the ministry, which will improve administrative coordination.
These companies were also included among the claimants
In 2018, after shifting its headquarters to New Delhi, Air India had decided to sell this building as part of its ‘asset monetization’ plan. At that time, Air India had demanded Rs 2,000 crore for this property. Maharashtra government had proposed Rs 1,400 crore. Other bidders included Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, which had offered Rs 1,375 crore. And Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was involved, which had proposed Rs 1,200 crore.
Fadnavis had requested in 2022
After the Eknath Shinde-led government came to power in Maharashtra, the state government decided to increase the amount of its proposal to Rs 1,601 crore. Along with this, the government also agreed to waive the outstanding amount of about Rs 300 crore. This dues were mainly related to ‘unrealized income’ (income that has not yet been received) from the land given on lease and the interest charged on it.
In 2022, the then Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had met Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and requested him to give priority to the Maharashtra government in the sale of this building. Now that the deal has been completed, the state government is hopeful that this Air India building will play an important role in meeting its office space needs in South Mumbai.
