Third meeting of Administrator’s Advisory Council held

Published on February 28, 2011 by News Desk   ·   No Comments  Print This Post

INVC,,

Chandigarh,

The third meeting of the Administrator’s
Advisory Council was held today in the U.T. Secretariat under
the Chairmanship of H.E. Sh. Shiv Raj V Patil, Administrator,
Union Territory, Chandigarh, and Governor of Punjab on the
issue of the preservation and maintenance of the heritage of the
City Beautiful.
The Administrator, in his opening remarks, dwelt upon
the background of the issue of heritage preservation stating
that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, had
observed that some of the buildings in the Union Territory of
Chandigarh, now more than half a century old, are in a state of
neglect and no longer do justice to the vision of Pandit Jawahar
Lal Nehru and Le Corbusier, the city’s Chief Planner & Architect.
The Secretariat Building and the High Court building, in
particular, required attention. The Ministry also desired that the
issue relating to the completion of the Capitol Complex also
needed consideration. The Ministry of Home Affairs asked the
U.T. Administration that in pursuance of the directions of the
Hon’ble Prime Minister, an Expert Committee should be
constituted to look after these aspects in order to preserve the
architectural heritage of Chandigarh as it was originally
envisaged.

Pursuant to these directions, H.E. informed the members
that an Expert Committee was constituted by the Ministry of
Home Affairs for preservation of architectural heritage of
Chandigarh under his Chairmanship with representatives of the
Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of
Home Affairs and other experts from the field of architecture
and heritage preservation.
Subsequently, four Sub Committees were constituted by
the Chandigarh Administration to look into the task of heritage
preservation. The first Sub Committee was given the task of
identifying the government buildings which required
conservation in the order of priority. The second Sub Committee
was assigned the task of identifying such private buildings and
precincts which could be considered for preservation. The third
Sub Committee was to examine the issue of preparation of
conservation bye-laws for ensuring proper upkeep, maintenance
and management of such identified buildings and their
precincts. The fourth Sub Committee was assigned the duty for
suggesting restoration and preservation of building materials
and suggesting solutions to the problems of the concrete
buildings, in particular, the brick and mortar which was used as
the predominant material in making such buildings.
The Administrator informed that so far, three Sub
Committees have submitted their recommendations. The
Administrator stressed upon the need for maintaining the
architectural heritage of the city while at the same time
amalgamating the felt needs of the people in view of the new
emerging challenges. He stressed that the basic vision of Le
Corbusier should be preserved. A holistic approach was needed
to take into account the challenges of the increased
demographic pressure on the city. The issues of slum
rehabilitation, traffic, parking, additional housing, additional
health and educational infrastructure, drinking water and
sewerage system as well as issues of periphery control, etc.
need to be addressed. He also stressed upon the need for a tricity
regional plan.
The Sub Committees today made their presentation
before the members of the Advisory Council. The basic
recommendation of the two Sub Committees regarding
identification of government buildings and of private buildings
was that the city’s urban landscape could be categorized into
three heritage categories. In the first category were those
buildings which were of sacrosanct nature and where no
external as well as internal changes would be permitted in order
to maintain the architectural and aesthetic beauty of these
buildings. The second category of buildings were those buildings
where no external changes would be permitted and only vital
and crucial internal changes could be allowed. The third
category of buildings were those buildings where external
changes could be permitted within the overall conceptual

framework, and additions and alterations could be allowed
within the buildings and the precincts. The third Committee
which had been given the task of suggesting measures for
restoration and preservation of the building material also made
a presentation. As per the recommendations of this Committee,
the buildings in the capitol complex should be taken up for
preservation in the first instance and recommended that, in the
first instance, cleaning of facade of these buildings should be
taken up at a cost of Rs.33 lakhs. The Administrator concluded
his introductory remarks by calling upon the members of the
Council to come forward with their views, so that soon after the
administration can forward its recommendations to the Govt. of
India.
The Members of the Advisory Council have made some
meaningful observations. Some notable remarks are as follows:
Sh. Pawan Kumar Bansal said that Chandigarh is a
“Living City” and the city development is a dynamic process and
all futuristic plans must incorporate the changing need profile of
the residents. Justice Kuldip Singh was of the view that the
basic concept of “sun, space and verdure” should be maintained.
Mr. M. L. Sarin proposed that there should be a legislation to
regulate the development in the periphery on the pattern of
NCR. The Mayor suggested that byelaws should be made for the
villages also.

The Administrator informed that all the suggestions of the
members would be examined by the administration and
necessary modifications would be incorporated. The final report
would be submitted to Ministry of Home Affairs for it approval at
the earliest and further action will be taken in accordance with
the directions of Government of India.

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