Back Bay (Mumbai)

Back Bay
Backbay
Mumbai's skyline from the Back Bay, circa 2022
Mumbai's skyline from the Back Bay, c. 2022
Location of Back Bay within Mumbai
Location of Back Bay within Mumbai
Back Bay
Location of Back Bay in Mumbai
Locationsouth of Mumbai, India
Coordinates18°56′N 72°49′E / 18.94°N 72.81°E / 18.94; 72.81
Typebay
Ocean/sea sources
Arabian Sea
Shore length1
4 km (2.5 mi)
SettlementsMumbai, India
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Back Bay is a waterbody off the coast of Mumbai city, located to its (south) west, and joins the Arabian Sea.

The shore of Back Bay includes the famed Chowpatty Beach of Mumbai. Other landmarks are the office district of Nariman Point, which is an extension of the Back Bay Reclamation; Marine Drive, which is a promenade road along much of the foreshore that is colloquially called The Queen's Necklace, and has been renamed as the Netaji Subhashchandra Bose Road; the Oberoi Hotel; the Air India headquarters building; the Marine Plaza Hotel; the Taraporewala Aquarium; Wilson College, and the Malabar Hill promontory; to the north-west of the bay, and which includes the wooded Governor's House or Raj Bhavan compound.


Back Bay reclamation

Back Bay viewed from the south east

Reclamation of Back Bay first began in the 1860s to provide land for railway line construction and urban development. However, the reclamation company collapsed after the stock market crash of 1865, and the reclaimed strip was transferred to the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway for its Churchgate–Colaba line.

A renewed scheme undertaken in 1920 suffered delays, cost overruns and financial irregularities, becoming known as "Lloyd's Folly" after Governor Sir George Lloyd. By 1929, four blocks covering 439.6 acres had been reclaimed. The northern blocks subsequently developed into the Art Deco precinct between Oval Maidan and Marine Drive.

The scheme was revived in 1958 to reclaim Blocks III–VI. By 1970, approximately 91 hectares of the proposed 222 hectares had been reclaimed. Following public criticism, the state government froze further reclamation on 1 December 1978. In 1983, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority was appointed the area's special planning authority; its development plan was subsequently approved in two parts in 2000 and 2001.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Backbay Reclamations". The Mumbai Pages. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  2. ↑ Kumar, Atul; Iyer, Nityaa Lakshmi (12 March 2019). "Art Deco in Mumbai: The Oval & Marine Drive". Art Deco Mumbai. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  3. ↑ Annual Report 2021–22 (PDF) (Report). Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Section 29: Planning and Development Control of Back-Bay Reclamation Scheme – Block III to VI. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "BackBay Reclamation Scheme (BBRS)". Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. Retrieved 27 September 2026.