Rampant violations at Secretariat building

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune news service

Chandigarh, May 16

Encroachments and violations at the Secretariat building of Punjab and Haryana are posing threats to the world heritage status of the Capitol Complex . Despite numbers requests and reminders, the Governments of the Punjab and the Haryana are paying no heed to these.

Getting temporary structures removed have been the biggest challenge for the UT Administration after the Capitol Complex was declared as the world heritage site by UNESCO.

Sumit Kaur, former Chief Architect, who is one of the members of the committee overseeing the conservation plan said this was a serious issue and should be sorted out soon.

She said all the buildings of the Capitol Complex required to be conserved as per the guidelines laid down by UNESCO for the maintenance of the world heritage site.

Sources said that violations and the encroachment were also mentioned in the report of Abha Narian Lambah, the UT’s heritage consultant, who has started work on the project. Lambhah made a detailed presentation of the condition assessment report on the ground realities of the area before the committee which found large-scale intervention with the original plan. The report found loose wires, AC ducts, temporary structures, porch and large scale violations in the Secretariat buildings

All buildings of the Capitol Complex comprising Punjab and Haryana Secretariats and the High Court will get original look as designed by world famous architect Le Corbusier.

Sources said the consultant hadalso taken up the matter with senior officers of the Punjab and the Haryana Government to seek their assistance for removing the encroachments at the Punjab and Haryana Secretariats.

Serious issue must be sorted out soon

Sumit Kaur, former Chief Architect, who is one of the members of the committee overseeing the conservation plan said this was a serious issue and should be sorted out soon. She said all the buildings of the Capitol Complex required to be conserved as per the guidelines laid down by UNESCO for the maintenance of the world heritage site. Sources said that violations and the encroachment were also mentioned in the report of Abha Narian Lambah, the UT’s heritage consultant, who has started work on the project.