With an aim to preserve the heritage look of city’s Capitol Complex, the UT Administration will review the existing security arrangements and future security requirements in the area. The issue of security arrangements in the Capitol Complex will be taken up during the meeting of Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) meeting which is scheduled to be held on November 12.
The fifth CHCC meeting will discuss the security arrangements proposed for Punjab and Haryana High Court, and proposal of construction of temporary accommodation for security personnel of Haryana Government behind Civil Secretariat among others issues.
Notably, the UT Administration has mooted a plan to either reduce or shift the deployment of large number of security personnel in Capitol Complex to make the area more tourist- friendly.
In a previous meeting of CHCC also, the UT Administration had decided to develop an overall security plan to ensure security at Chandigarh’s architectural heritage –Capitol Complex.
The CHCC also decided that holistic security plan with modern technology and concepts would be evolved for the entire Capitol Complex to maintain the sanctity of the original complex rather than fragmenting the edifices in Complex separately.
According to the statistics with UT Tourism Department, about 2,334 foreign and domestic tourists had visited the Capitol Complex from April 2012 till May 2013. And, about 1,000 permissions have been issued from Tourism Department and its offices since last one year.
At present, many places in Capitol Complex is fenced off due to tight security, making the Complex not a tourist friendly place. The Capitol Complex has been placed under Grade I of heritage status by UT Administration in an attempt to preserve these structures. The Complex is an administrative hub of two States namely Punjab and Haryana and has buildings of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Haryana and Punjab Secretariat and Assembly, open hand monument and other significant buildings.
Also, French architect le Corbusier designed Capitol Complex along with his other works in six countries is included in the trans-border serial nomination for UNESCO heritage status for the year 2015.
Meanwhile, the CHCC will also take up the issue of defacement of layout maps installed along city roads and general planning of street amenities. At many prominent locations in Chandigarh, the layout maps have been defaced by sprays or scratched beyond visibility.
During its meeting, the Committee would examine the proposal of installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the roof top of buildings in the High Court campus and proposal of extension of Chandigarh College of Architecture Building – lighting laboratory and new M Arch. Block.
“A total of six agenda points including security arrangements at Capitol Complex, defacement of layout maps in the city among other issues would be taken up during the fifth meeting of CHCC,” said a senior official of the UT Administration while talking to The Pioneer.
The official said that the proposals of security arrangement at High Court and Civil Secretariat in Sector 1 here will be discussed during the meeting. The construction of more bunkers has been proposed for the security of the area. The previous meeting of CHCC was held on May this year where the Committee had approved the construction of new Town Planning Building for Punjab and Haryana in Sector 18 here. The CHCC was constituted on the directions of Union Ministry of Home Affairs for preparing detailed project reports of important heritage buildings in the city., besides ensuring their proper conservation as well as maintenance. The Committee is supervising the architectural preservation plans in Chandigarh.