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Indian Express
17-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Kolkata Corporation drafts rules for uniform standards for conservation, management of heritage structures in city
Written by Sharadiya Mitra Kolkata city's right architectural legacy stands poised for consistent preservation, as the civic body has recently drafted a set of updated rules to ensure uniform standards for the conservation and management of all listed heritage structures in the city. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has forwarded the draft guidelines to the West Bengal government for approval so that the architectural relics are conserved through enforceable preservation rules. Experts feel that this step would significantly bring in a comprehensive system to protect the heritage structures dotting Kolkata city despite decades of identification and documentation. Despite having a structured approach, the existing conservation rules and grading system formulated by a team led by historian Prof Barun De had left many buildings vulnerable to alterations, neglect, and demolition. 'We have prepared a detailed draft that can truly change the way heritage is preserved in Kolkata. What Kolkata needs now is not just admiration for its past, but commitment to its future. These rules are a start—but only if they're allowed to take effect,' said an official from the Heritage Conservation Committee. 'But until the government clears it, our hands are tied,' he added. Prof Barun De-led subcommittee was tasked with reviewing and refining the list of heritage buildings compiled in 1998, as many entries were found to be either inaccurate, outdated, or lacking historical significance. The revised document grouped 611 buildings under Grade I, which stipulated no structural changes, 197 buildings under Grade IIA that allowed minor additions in open spaces, and 109 structures under Grade IIB that permitted minor modifications under supervision. In 1997, the Government of West Bengal formed an expert committee to identify heritage structures within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) limits. By 1998, a detailed list was submitted, and the KMC Act was amended to include a section dedicated to heritage protection. Although KMC acknowledged the revised list, the lack of proper regulatory support meant conservation efforts remained largely symbolic. (The writer is an intern with the Indian Express)
New Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
GBA replaces BBMP from today, five corporations likely
BENGALURU: Ring out the old, ring in the new. The state government on Wednesday issued a notification paving way for the creation of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), replacing the existing Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The GBA will come into effect from Thursday. Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Urban Development Department, Tushar Girinath said from Thursday, the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBG) Act will come into effect. He stressed that till the reconstitution of various corporations under the GBA is completed, there will not be much change in the functioning of the corporation. 'In the next step, the areas that come under the GBA will be notified. Once that is done, these areas will be further divided as per section 5 of the GBG Act to form corporations. As per the procedure, it will also include issuing notification and calling objections,' said Girinath. To a question on the probable confusion for the city administration, the ACS said, 'Till the time everything is finalised, the existing position of BBMP will continue to function as it was,' he said. The top official also said that there is a provision under section 7 (5) and section 360 of the GBG Act that specifies about the transition. 'All the functions in BBMP will continue till the time of reconstitution of GBA into various City Corporations and GBA kicks in within 120 days from the date of issue of notification,' the ACS said. He added, 'From May 15, we have four months to reconstitute various corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority and till that period, BBMP will continue as per the old rules under the BBMP and KMC Act as long as they are not in contravention to the new Act.' Girinath added that once the exercise is complete, all other Acts like the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act will cease to exist. CM will be chairman of GBA, DCM vice-chairman As per the provisions of the new Act, CM will be the chairman of the GBA and Deputy CM and Bengaluru District In-charge Minister will be the vice-chairman. It is expected that three to five corporations will be formed under the GBA, and an administrator will be the head of all these corporations, individually headed by commissioners. Areas like Anekal, Sarjapura, Chandrapura, Hebbagodi, Kumbalagodu, Belathur, Madanayakanahalli and other outer areas which are under panchayat limits will also fall under GBA, said the sources.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rooftop issue: Get-tough signal from Nabanna to KMC
1 2 Kolkata: A proposal on drawing up an SOP on conditions for approving rooftop facilities, which could have offered a breather to terrace restaurants and pubs in Kolkata, Salt Lake and New Town, was reportedly turned down by Nabanna . The state urban development department, headed by mayor Firhad Hakim, had sent the proposal to state chief secretary Manoj Pant for approval earlier this week. Sources said Pant turned it down, indicating the state's uncompromising stand on the issue. As a result, any immediate relief for rooftop facilities now seems a far need to prepare the SOP was felt after owners of rooftop restaurants and pubs, who had been served notices by KMC, requested the civic authorities to grant them permission to resume operations, once they cleared fire safety checks. Operation Sindoor Pak drones enter Indian airspace, explosions heard just hours after truce deal Sirens, explosions in border districts after Pak breaks deal: What we know so far 'What happened to ceasefire?' J&K CM after explosions heard across Srinagar Acting on a list provided by Kolkata Police, the KMC buildings department sent notices to owners of 83 rooftop establishments under Section 401 of the KMC Act, asking them to keep the operations suspended till further notice. The KMC directed the owners to shut down and enforce strict fire safety regulations and the civic body's building rules. The primary demand by the authorities was to ensure a free and unimpeded access to the terraces. Some of these rooftop restaurants had approached KMC to point out that their establishments were not located on the terrace. While the civic body will conduct a hearing for three rooftop resto pubs that had moved Calcutta High Court, KMC buildings department officials said they would extend the hearing to others who approached them. The buildings department would then forward the findings to the mayor so that he could take an informed decision on whether to allow the rooftop entities to resume business or close down, said a civic official. But now that the state has refused to compromise with fire safety norms and give conditional approval to the facilities, the buildings department will be more active in conducting on-the-spot had earlier said KMC was in favour of closing rooftop restaurants that ran illegally. "To ensure fire safety regulations, we don't have any option but to shut rooftop restaurants," said a KMC official, adding the building rules specified that every terrace of any building should have a common access and should not be his displeasure over rooftop encroachments for commercial gains, Hakim said terraces should be used as fire refuge. "We should take a lesson from the fire on Park Street last June. I still shudder to think of the unfortunate deaths at Stephen Court, many of whom had found the terrace door locked," Hakim said.
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Kolkata HC pulls up KMC for demolition drive without prior notice
Representative image Representative image 1 2 KOLKATA: Following Calcutta High Court posers to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the LMNOQ Sky Bar at Park Street on Monday, the civic body told HC that it would not act on its demolition order against the 12th floor Celica Park restaurant till Thursday when the court would be hearing the case again. Reacting to this, mayor Firhad Hakim said KMC would comply with HC directives but also pointed out that it was not a stay order. A separate plea filed by restaurants against the civic body's closure notices would be heard on Tuesday. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Counsel for the bar owners, Sabyasachi Chowdhury, told HC that they had received a notice under Section 401 of KMC Act — a stop-work notice — in July 2024 and also on Saturday. There was no demolition notice, he stated, and that the eatery should get 15 days of notice to remove any illegal structure. 'There was no requirement to come with police and break my furniture and glass fittings,' the counsel said. Even while holding that the construction of the bar was illegal since it had applied for regularisation of sheds built on the roof, Justice Gaurang Kanth told KMC that serving a notice to an eatery under Section 401 did not allow its demolition. While KMC admitted that no demolition notice had been served, the HC told the civic body: 'You know very well that you cannot demolish a structure under section 401. You hold your hands and make a statement that you are not going to demolish further,' Justice Kanth told the civic body. On the judge's question as to what legal provisions allowed KMC do demolitions without prior notices, KMC counsel Saptangsu Basu replied that section 400 (8) of the KMC Act allows the Mayor-in-Council to order immediate demolition of a building or work if it is in contravention of the Act and if the Mayor-in-Council believed immediate action was necessary. Even after the KMC assurance, restaurant's councel VVV Sastry objected, saying the civic body's counsel had made a verbal promise and no formal order had been passed. Addressing the restaurant, the judge said: 'I want to understand... when you are running a rooftop restaurant, you have a fire licence. Let's assume you have it for the rooftop as well. For another licence, you gave a blueprint, but do you show in the blueprint that you are serving alcohol in the open area? You know that this was an illegal structure. You had asked for regularisation (for putting up the shed).' The civic body, after it was given a list of 83 rooftop restaurants for scrutiny by Kolkata Police, had started a drive on Saturday and demolished a portion of LMNOQ. The bar moved HC and mentioned it before justice Kanth on Monday. Mayor Firhad Hakim, meanwhile, said: 'The judge has asked KMC to produce valid documents and submit the same to the court. I was present at LMNOQ. The owners were asked to clear passage for entry of a hydraulic ladder. As they chose to ignore the order, we had to carry out certain demolitions to make the area vacant.' The owner's counsel submitted in court that the restaurant was awaiting regularisation of the use of sheds following the July 2024 notice. The sheds, he claimed, were temporary structures, and could be easily dismantled. He also claimed that the bar had a fire licence valid till Aug. Appearing for KMC, Saptangsu Basu submitted that some portion has been demolished.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Karnataka HC clears BBMP engineer of inaction charges, says he followed tribunal order
The Karnataka High Court quashed an enquiry and charge sheet against BBMP Assistant Engineer BC Sandeep, stating that officials cannot be faulted for not acting on unauthorized constructions when a court-ordered status quo is in place. BENGALURU: An officer of the state is required to abide by the orders of courts and tribunals. If there is an order from such a court or tribunal restraining the officer from performing any particular action, the non-performance thereof cannot be said to be a dereliction of duty, the Karnataka High Court has observed in a recent order. Justice Suraj Govindaraj made this observation while quashing the order of entrustment of enquiry to Upa Lokayukta in March 2016 and the charge sheet issued against petitioner BC Sandeep, an Assistant Engineer with the BBMP, in July 2016. The case against the petitioner was that in 2013, he, along with other officials of the BBMP, failed to take action against an unauthorised construction in 7th Cross, Jayanagar 1st Block, in terms of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act , despite the issuance of provisional and confirmatory orders in 2013. Though his name was in the promotion list, it was not considered, citing a pending enquiry taken up suo motu by the Lokayukta. Challenging the orders issued against him, Sandeep argued that during the three years he worked, there was an interim order of status quo issued by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal on November 25, 2013, based on an appeal filed by the owner of the said property. Hence, he and his superiors could not take any further action vis-a-vis the unauthorised construction/deviation in the subject property. He further claimed that he is duty-bound to follow the orders issued by the courts/tribunals as an official. On the other hand, the Lokayukta argued that the proceedings against the petitioner needed to be continued as no action was initiated in the matter when violations were noticed. After perusing the materials on record, Justice Suraj Govindaraj noted that both on the date of entrustment of the enquiry to Upa Lokayukta and on the date of issuance of the charge sheet, the interim order of the KAT was in operation. Hence, the petitioner could not take further action in pursuance of the confirmation order issued under Section 321(3) of the KMC Act, and the same cannot be held against him. Quashing the proceedings against the petitioner, the judge clarified that the court has not expressed any opinion regarding the other seven persons against whom a charge sheet has been filed.
