After months of waiting, IIT-Bombay has submitted the structural stability report for the 150-year-old Esplanade Mansion to the Bombay High Court, recommending the demolition of the building. This has come as a shock to heritage conservationists who feel the UNESCO World Heritage Site should be restored instead. MHADA had earlier told the court that the building could be repaired without being pulled down.

In July 2018, HC had appointed IIT-B to carry out a structural audit of the building, which is a cast iron structure, to ascertain whether repairs can be carried out. The report, submitted in court earlier this week, stated that based on a visual inspection of the building, 'the angle cleats on the columns, the bolts connecting the beams and columns and the tie rods are broken at several places'. It further observed that the 'rigidity of the structure is lost' which has 'resulted in creation of wide gaps between the columns and walls and beams'.