Chandigarh : 10 heritage items sold for Rs 79.16 lakh in US

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 8

In yet another auction of heritage furniture from the city, as many as 10 lots were sold off in the US on June 6 for Rs 79.16 lakh.

The artefacts, designed by architect Pierre Jeanneret, include two pairs of committee chairs, a coffee table, a set of chairs, a desk and stool, a bookrack, a desk and chair, a chair, an occasional table and a lounge chair.

No end to illegal sale abroad

• June 4 28 artefacts from UT auctioned off in France, fetching over Rs 4 crore; the costliest item, a sofa set, was sold for Rs 42.35 lakh
• May 12 9 heritage items auctioned off for Rs 1.17 crore in New Jersey, US; the costliest item was a floor lamp, which went for Rs 22.93 lakh
• March 30 9 heritage items went under the hammer for Rs 1.64 crore in a Chicago auction; a set of six stools was the costliest item at Rs 18.70 lakh

In a letter to Somnath Ghosh, Consul General of India at Chicago (US), Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Items Protection Cell of the Chandigarh Administration, said he was submitting the communication in continuation of his earlier correspondence regarding another auction of national heritage in the US.

“On June 6, 10 lots from the Assembly building, Punjab Engineering College, Panjab University, Punjab and Haryana High Court and UT Administration buildings were auctioned off in the US,” he said.

On queries raised by Ghosh the last time, Jagga said the items belonged to Capital Project and the UT Administration was its in-charge. Although being a UT, these were directly under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. These items were owned by the UT Administration/High Court/Panjab University, State of Punjab, etc. and the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a specific order in this regard on February 22, 2011, regarding prohibition on their sale/disposal/removal/export.

Another order had been issued by the Archaeological Survey of India in September, 2020, asking all export channels to prohibit the export, he stated.