Kolkata

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has quietly removed around 40 buildings from the heritage list after being allegedly paid nearly Rs 12 crore by different builders who have acquired the properties and even demolished some of the buildings to develop projects.

While the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage has moved court against the delisting of one such property, the others appear to have given everyone the slip. Of the 1,300-odd buildings and sites originally identified by the Expert Committee on Heritage Buildings set up by the state government in 1998, the civic body that has a Heritage Conservation Committee set up a sub-committee for further classification and grading into different categories to enable “more meaningful conservation” by the civic body.

According to the report submitted last year, 605 buildings and sites were classified in the Grade I category that banned external change and called for its compatible usage. Another 306 buildings were classified in Grade II, of which 110 were further classified as subgrade A where new construction was allowed in the open land within the premises in a manner compatible with the heritage building. The remaining 196 were classified as subgrade B where horizontal or vertical addition and alteration of the building was allowed.

Apart from these 911 buildings and sites, the remaining were classified Grade III that did not have any architectural importance and demolition of the structure was to be allowed, provided a plaque was erected depicting the history of the building. While Grade I buildings became out of bounds to developers, those declared Grade II and III became prime targets in a city starved of free land. At least 40 buildings in these groups have been delisted. While most of them have been in the last category, some of the buildings delisted are even in Grade II A and B list.

It has now come to light that the Heritage Conservation Committee had no authority to delist buildings after they are given the heritage tag. Section 425 (O) of the KMC Act, 1980 (Amendment) clearly states that in case the civic body wants to delist a heritage building, the matter has to be approved in the floor of the KMC House. After the resolution is passed in the House, the matter has to be sent to the state government for necessary approval. The rule was blatantly violated.

“The basic rules in delisting heritage structures have been violated with a purpose. The matter has also been hushed up,” alleged Atin Ghosh, the former municipal accounts committee chairman, who is now mayor-in-council member (health). Sources said money played a huge part with builders coughing up lakhs of rupees to get the properties delisted for fresh development. The move to delist the properties, though, began even before the classification was accepted by KMC last year. For example, a big realtor approached the civic authorities in 2006 with a proposal to construct a multi-storied complex at 302 APC Roy Road, a property owned by the erstwhile Maharaja of Cossimbazar.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, after assuming the chair, had promised to look into the anomalies. But no steps have so far been taken on the issue that may well alter the intrinsic character of Kolkata. “We will definitely see to it that things move in the right direction when it comes to preservation of city’s heritage. If any anomalies are detected, we will set it right,” Chatterjee said.

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