Chandigarh Heritage conservation committee ‘administrative fiction', has no legal basis: Tewari
Responding to a query by Tewari on the legal status of the committee, during the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament on Monday, the Union ministry of culture only said that CHCC was constituted by the Chandigarh administration on April 20, 2012, following a nod by the ministry of home affairs in response to the report of the expert heritage committee, submitted by the administration.
The Centre's response was silent on the committee's legal standing, which Tewari has been flagging for some time now, questioning whether the administration drew its authority to constitute the committee under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, or the corresponding Punjab Act of 1964.
'A perusal of the answer makes it evident that the heritage conservation committee of Chandigarh has no basis in law,' said the MP.
The committee is headed by the UT chief secretary and has experts from different fields, with a mandate to ensure proper conservation, preservation, restoration and maintenance of the enlisted heritage of the city.
Any projects requiring architectural changes to the city's original plan and heritage require the committee's clearance.
The panel's decision of not allowing re-densification in first 30 sectors, despite multiple representations from residents, has been criticised by a section of people.
The decision was taken in the backdrop of a January 2023 judgment of Supreme Court, wherein it ruled that the first 30 sectors of Chandigarh carried the heritage status of Le Corbusier zone and, therefore, conversion of residential houses into floor-wise apartments cannot be permitted in these sectors.
The SC had said the re-densification issue will be dealt with by the panel.
However, Tewari has been arguing that these were only interim directions from the apex court till the panel reviewed the issue of re-densification of heritage sectors.
The government in its reply also said the entire city of Chandigarh had not been declared as 'heritage'.
The report of the expert heritage committee recommended heritage status to Phase 1 of the city, which comprises Sectors 1 to 30.
A total of 13 heritage zones and heritage buildings have been identified in the report, graded as heritage grade I, Il and III, as per their historical and cultural significance and also their unique architectural value.
The CHCC has till date held 25 meetings since its constitution and disposed of various sensitive issues concerning development/re-development of various projects in Sector 1 to 30, the government's reply reads.
'In short, the heritage conservation committee cannot become the final arbiter of Chandigarh's progress and development as it has no basis in law and has not been constituted pursuant to any Parliamentary enactment. Its remit must be circumscribed to the conservation of 13 heritage zones,' Tewari underlined, further adding that from Sector 30 onwards, no area carried heritage status, even according to the expert heritage committee.
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