Heritage Town Hall can’t be turned into a food court: Himachal High Court

Vijay Arora

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, January 10

The Himachal High Court today restrained a private operator from running a food court in the iconic building of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), namely the Town Hall, situated on the Mall Road.

While passing the interim order, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua held that “the Town Hall is a much-coveted historical landmark of Shimla city that has been renovated at a great cost with investment of funds by Asian Development Bank. Heritage sites are always precious; they are witness to an antique era.”

Housed SMC offices post-Independence

• The Town Hall originally housed a library and a few public utility offices. Post-Independence it housed Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) offices
• At a meeting convened on Nov 29, 2019, presided over by the Chief Secretary, it was decided to utilise the ground floor of the Town Hall for running a ‘high-end café’
• The SMC on April 12, 2021, requested the HP Infrastructure Development Board to manage the bidding process for leasing the space for running a ‘high-end cafe’ on the ground floor of the Town Hall on the PPP mode
• The successful bidder had quoted the highest annual concession fee of over Rs 1.32 crore

The court observed that “the heritage has to be preserved. Running a food court in the iconic building will put the property under continued pressure and pose a threat to its heritage value”.

The court directed the State Heritage Advisory Committee through the office of Advocate General to look into all above facts of the case and submit a report by the next date of hearing.

It clarified in the order that while considering different angles of the case pertaining to the use of the ground floor of the magnificent and majestic Town Hall, any document, record or assistance required by the Heritage Committee be provided to it.

The court stated that “therefore, till the next date of hearing, the operators of the food court are forthwith restrained from running it in the Town Hall on The Mall Road in Shimla.” The court also directed the SMC Commissioner to ensure immediate compliance of its order and listed the matter for further hearing on March 14.

The court passed the interim order on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a lawyer seeking the quashing of the tender awarded to the bidder/private contractor for running a ‘high-end cafe’ in the Town Hall. By way of interim relief, the petitioner prayed for restraining the private respondents from running the multi-franchise ‘food court’ in the heritage building.

The Town Hall is located in the heart of Shimla city. Built in 1860, it was first renovated in 1910-11 and thereafter during 2014-18 in the Gothic architectural style. The building has immense historic significance and is a notified heritage structure situated in a notified heritage area. To maintain its grandeur and preserve its heritage, its owner —the SMC — has not been permitted even to set up all its offices in the building, which were previously housed there.

The building originally housed a library and a few public utility offices. Post-Independence the Town Hall building housed the SMC offices. The occupation and use of the building, with the passage of time, brought it to a shambles and hence need was felt to restore its grandeur. Extensive renovation work that commenced in 2014 was completed in 2018. The Town Hall is a notified heritage building.

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