Special Heritage Committee Meets

Care should be taken not to mar the beauty of heritage structures: DC

Mysuru: Ample care should be taken while new buildings are being constructed near the heritage structures so that it does not mar the beauty of the heritage structures, said Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep. Speaking to media persons, after chairing a meeting of the Special Heritage Committee Cell, here yesterday at the DC’s Office, he said that many new structures were coming up in the premises of the heritage buildings without the permission of the Heritage Committee and hence instructions has been given to officials concerned to stop such constructions.

The new buildings should be constructed mirroring the heritage structures that are in the vicinity and the building height should not be higher than the older ones. Only after following these guidelines permission should be given, he said and added that officials had been asked to take suggestions of the architects too.

It may be recalled that these measures are being taken after a couple of heritage structures like the Manipal Office Building on Seshadri Iyer Road next to Lokayukta Office and Krupalaya, in Nazarabad, where the founder of Jawa Factory F.K. Irani lived, had been demolished. This action had brought severe criticism from the public.

If the Lansdowne building, which is lying in a stage of complete neglect, has to be demolished, then the approval of the Heritage Committee has to be sought. If the structural engineers feel that there is danger to human lives, then, it has to be knocked down. However, we still do not have any information in this regard. And, if such a situation arises then we will consult the experts, he said.

There are nearly 201 heritage structures in Mysuru and it was decided to sensitise the officials and the residents about them. The zonal offices of the MCC will be given a list of such buildings so that they do not repeat the blunder of giving permission to raze them down, he said.

However, it is sad to see that the beauty of the Town Hall, a Heritage structure built in 1884,  is completely marred by the construction activity going all around it, completely marring its beauty, said a Heritage activist.

PWD violating rules

An official of the Heritage Department said that the PWD was violating the Heritage rules by constructing a guest house on the Jaladarshini premises without permission. This new guest house is close to two heritage buildings — Jaladarshini and the Deputy Commissioner’s residence. Bringing this to the attention of the DC, the official said that the PWD has not responded to the notice sent to them.

Rules hit DC too

Ironically, the Heritage Rules have come in the way of the Deputy Commissioner wanting to replace the old wooden gate at his residence, which is a heritage structure. The gate is so weak that it may collapse with a hard push. When the DC asked the PWD to replace it, they cited the Heritage rules and said that they have to first demolish a small portion of the wall and then fix a new gate for which permission is required from the Heritage Department. The answer was ditto when he wanted a direct access to the puja room!