HT Explainer: UT heritage committee: Facts vs fiction
Hindustan Times special correspondent Hillary Victor delves into the history, mandate and role of the committee in carrying out architectural changes to the city’s original plan.
The Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) was set up by the UT administration in 2012 to protect and preserve the city’s cultural heritage, particularly the legacy of architect Le Corbusier, whose work, including the Capitol Complex, has been recognised as a Unesco World Heritage site. Earlier this week, the committee made headlines after the Union culture ministry responded to city Congress MP Manish Tewari’s query on its legal basis in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. Tewari went on to term the committee “purely an administrative fiction created by an executive order”. Hindustan Times special correspondent Hillary Victor delves into the history, mandate and role of the committee in carrying out architectural changes to the city’s original plan.
Why was the heritage committee set up? What was its mandate?
In 2010, following complaints from prominent Chandigarh residents to the Prime Minister’s Office about the neglect of landmark buildings in the city, then Union home minister P Chidambaram wrote to then UT administrator Shivraj Patil, directing him to constitute an expert committee to examine matters related to the preservation of buildings designed by Le Corbusier and other contemporaneous structures.
On May 31, 2010, the ministry of home affairs issued a notification appointing 11 members to the committee with the UT administrator as its chairman and directed it to submit its report within three months. Based on the recommendations, the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) was established on April 12, 2012, with the UT adviser (now chief secretary) as its chairman.
The CHCC was tasked with advising the Chandigarh administration on matters related to the identification, protection, conservation, and maintenance of the city’s heritage.
How are CHCC members appointed? What is their role?
Headed by the UT adviser, the committee’s members include the UT home secretary, secretaries of finance, culture, urban planning and local government, besides the chief engineer and chief architect; representatives from the ministries of home affairs, urban development, and culture; the MC commissioner; and estate officer. The committee includes professionals from urban design, conservation architecture, structural engineering, environmental science, and art/architecture history. The UT chief architect serves as the member-secretary, while professionals are appointed by the UT administrator.
In 2012, the CHCC was constituted to advise the Chandigarh administration on matters related to the identification, protection, conservation, and maintenance of the city’s heritage. The committee assists in preparing the conservation management plan and in framing special regulation, design guidelines, and conservation principles in heritage zones, precincts, buildings, and natural features.
The committee’s decisions are recommendatory as the final authority rests with the UT administration.
Why is CHCC’s legal status being questioned now?
The heritage committee derives its authority from the Master Plan-2031, notified in 2015, which states that areas identified in the expert committee report shall be monitored by the CHCC. Its legal status is being questioned because it was initially established through an executive order and later ratified in the Master Plan-2031.
On January 10, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Sectors 1 to 30 of Chandigarh hold heritage status of the Le Corbusier Zone, and therefore, the conversion of residential houses into floor-wise apartments cannot be permitted in these sectors.
The court directed that the CHCC must also consider the impact of such redensification on infrastructure for parking and traffic management.
Once the CHCC examines these matters, the Chandigarh administration would consider amending the Chandigarh Master Plan–2031 and the 2017 Rules, as they apply to Phase I, in accordance with the committee’s recommendations. Such amendments would then be placed before the Centre, which would decide on their approval while ensuring the preservation of the Le Corbusier Zone’s heritage status.
Which projects is the CHCC overseeing?
The committee deals only with projects related to Phase I, covering Sectors 1 to 30. Phase I consists of 13 zones, including buildings along Himalaya Marg, Uttar Marg, Jan Marg, Dakshin Marg, Vigyan Path, Sukhna Lake, the Capitol Complex, all streets on V-4 roads, and Sector 17. Among the major projects handled by it are the rejuvenation of Sector 17, the underpass project linking the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and Panjab University, the maintenance of buildings in the Capitol Complex, and the Sarangpur flyover.
