After years of dillydallying and uncertainty, the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee on Wednesday finally gave approval to the expansion plan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which included construction of G +1 (ground plus one floor) for setting up judicial branches and lawyers chambers, G - 3 parking (three floor underground) near Rock Garden besides single security system by CISF in the Court premises.
However, the approval from the CHCC which met under Manoj Parida, Advisor to UT Administrator is just the first step and the Chandigarh Administration would have to follow a cumbersome process including apprizing and taking consent from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to undertake construction work in the Capitol Complex, which is UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.
Declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 2016, the Capitol Complex is an administrative hub of two states namely Punjab and Haryana and has iconic heritage buildings of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Haryana and Punjab Secretariat and Assembly, open hand monument among others.
Considering the long pending demands related to expansion and security concerns in the High Court premises, the CHCC, while rejecting the proposal of construction of G+3 floor building in the HC, on Wednesday gave a go ahead to G+1 floor building for official work and three level basement parking.
The CHCC was first constituted in the year 2012 on the directions of Union Ministry of Home Affairs to supervise the architectural preservation plans in Chandigarh.
“The Chandigarh Administration will write to the UNESCO to apprize about the expansion plan of High Court and simultaneously, seek permission to undertake the construction work,” said a senior officer of the Chandigarh Administration while talking to The Pioneer.
The officer said that the proposal of new constructions have been made accordingly in the buffer zone of the main UNESCO heritage site—Capitol Complex. The experts in CHCC have given their approval after deliberating over various pros and cons. Now, the experts in UNESCO will re-analyze it and give their recommendations to us, if any, the officer added.
The Administration will also inform the High Court and Union Ministry of Home Affairs about the decision taken by CHCC in its meeting on Wednesday, the officer said.
In view of the increasing pressure on existing infrastructure and space requirements in the premises, the authorities concerned in the HC had demanded construction of additional floors over the existing parking and the lawyers’ chamber building and also, the construction of atleast seven feet concrete wall around the Court premises to ensure foolproof security.
Notably, in the dossier submitted before UNESCO in 2016 for the nomination of the world heritage status of the Capitol Complex, the UT Administration had submitted that it will not compromise on the original layout plan for expansion of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Secretariat buildings in the Capitol Complex.
Now, the Chandigarh Administration has to submit a report to the UNESCO by December 1 regarding conservation efforts and plans in the Complex. The format for the submission of state of conservation reports by the concerned parties also includes information regarding the new constructions.
As per the operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, the state parties (concerned authorities/states) have to describe any potential major restorations, alterations and/or new construction(s) intended within the property, the buffer zone(s) and/or corridors or other areas, where such developments may affect the outstanding universal value of the property, including authenticity and integrity
CHCC rejects proposal of G+3 building in HC premises, approves G-3 parking
Asserting that the proposal of construction of ground plus three-level building (G +3) under the expansion plan of the HC on a 3,21,000 sq ft area could have negative visual impact, the CHCC rejected this revised proposal prepared by the Building Committee of HC and approved the original proposal of construction of G+1 floor building in the premises.
Giving details of the decision taken in the meeting, the Adviser while talking to the mediapersons said that the CHCC was given a presentation on original holistic development plan of HC, which was conceived through a design competition conducted by the Building Committee and approved by UT Administrator in consultation with Chief Justice. The committee has accepted the proposal to construct G +1 floor building in the total area of 3 lakh sq. ft. as was originally conceived. In some pockets, we can go upto G +2 floor as well in the premises, he said.
It has been decided not to construct any building more than two floors in the Capitol Complex, which could destroy the landscaping. The members expressed fear that such alteration may lead to loss of heritage tag for the city, Parida said.
The decisions will be apprized to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, he added.
The CHCC also decided that underground parking should be provided in the area near Rock Garden. G-3 (three basement floors) parking is proposed for a capacity of 5000 vehicles there, he said.
As regards to the construction of boundary wall around the High Court Complex, the Advisor said that it was agreed that only in the area bordering the forest, where concrete walls already existed will be strengthened. Remaining area will be covered by barbed wires and green fences as is being done at present.
It is also decided that instead of two agencies CISF and ITBP only one agency – CISF will be given the responsibility of providing security to the HC. Apart from this, there should be more security cameras and modern perimeter access control technology to ensure proper security in the Court premises, he said.
During the meeting, SSP Traffic suggested that the designated parking space in other sectors should be made and shuttle service can be provided to the litigants and lawyers to come to the Court since there is extremely limited space in the Capitol Complex.
Parida further said that there have been demands of expansion from State Assemblies also, but we have decided to freeze the expansion process in the Capitol Complex. Apart from the decisions in today’s meeting, we have decided not to undertake more expansion plans in the Complex.
The Committee is of the view that the growing demand for space by litigants and lawyers can never be adequately met unless new High Court Benches are constituted in the neighbouring cities like Panchkula and Mohali, the Advisor added.