8 Historical Facts About Nariman Point That Make It One of India's Most Expensive Spaces

Nariman Point Mumbai’s most famous commercial hub that is a regular sight in Bollywood movies But did you know who is ‘Nariman’ that gave it its name? It's Khurshed Nariman

Mumbai is a series of islands It has lots of water but not enough land. So, the water is replaced with land through a process called Reclamation. In the 1500’s when Portugal ruled Bombay they offered to give in perpetuity – land in Bombay, to anyone who reclaimed it

In 1864, Reclamation of 1500 acres was planned from the tip of Malabar Hill to Colaba but it had to be abandoned mid-way as the company doing it went bankrupt

In 1917 – another attempt at reclamation was planned. This reclamation eventually gave Bombay the famous Marine Drive But before that could happen, massive irregularities were alleged and the man leading charges of corruption was – Khurshed Nariman

Nariman was a lawyer-politician. He labelled the reclamation as a scandal and his primary target was British engineer, George Buchanan. The reclamation fell victim to massive delays and cost-overruns. The administration said it was a mistake. But Nariman wasn’t convinced

Nariman was sued for defamation but he won in court and became a political star. Eventually the reclamation exercise was reduced and completed in 1929. Nariman became the mayor of Bombay in 1935. He passed away in 1948 Courtesy - Twitter VishalBhargava5

After Nariman's death, the government tried reclamation. This was the most visible nexus of politicians and builders. From a plan of large open spaces & public buildings - it became a builders dream. Open spaces were shrunk, land usage was changed

But it led to the creation of two hotspots, one was Cuffe Parade, another was Nariman Point. It would soon become India’s most expensive office hub. Ironically the reclamation marred with highest irregularities was named after the man who exposed much smaller regularities