Reeling under highly dilapidated conditions due to sheer negligence, the Belapur Fort might just be on the verge of getting the deserving facelift. Speaking to the newspersons, the Thane civic chief Nandkumar Jantre has said that the Belapur Fort will be declared as a heritage site. Anyone visiting the Belapur Fort is awed by the grandeur of the location of the Fort, overlooking the plains and creek in the city till Panvel, however they are equally shocked and ashamed at the neglect of the only historical site in the city. Siddi Johar built the Belapur fort as a defence against the Marathas. After the shock defeat of Afzal Khan and the rout of the Bijapuri army at Pratapgadh, Shivaji counter attacked within few days pushing deep into Bijapuri territory. The Maratha army successfully captured Panhala (near the city of Kolhapur), while another section lead by Netaji Palkar pushed straight on towards Bijapur. The attack on Bijapur was repulsed and Shivaji along with few of his sardars retreated to Panhala to regroup. The Bijapuri force was lead by Siddhi Johar, an abyssian general, who put up a siege around Panhala upon finding out Shivaji's location and the rest is history. Noted conservation architects have always voiced concern and said that it was unfortunate that the planners of new age Navi Mumbai never considered that the Fort and its surroundings could be promoted as a heritage and recreational spot. CIDCO instead built a guest house on one side and sold plots to chosen builders on the other side leading to fears that the fort premises too will be ravaged and cleared for chosen builders as this is located just beside the proposed Sagar Sangam railway station on the Panvel-Uran line. On the other side, massive sand dredging activities is leading to rapid environment destruction, Jantre declared that very soon the Kille Gaonthan will be declared a heritage site and only the technical formalities are pending. This is a welcome sign as the residents of the area have been complaining about sand dredging activities and air and noise pollution. Probably this announcement could relieve them from their problems.