The mayoral council of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Wednesday decided to allow the construction of two buildings on a plot owned by the Royal Calcutta Turf Club on Russel Street in the central business district, officials said.
The 4-acre plot has a two-storey heritage building.
A mayoral council member who confirmed to The Telegraph, on condition of anonymity, that the council had allowed the construction of two buildings on the plot, said the builders could not make any alteration to the heritage building.
The KMC website mentions that the building on the Russel Street plot is a Grade-I heritage structure.
According to the Graded List of Heritage Buildings, “no external change will be permissible” for a Grade-I heritage building. “Use of the building should also be compatible with the category of the heritage building”, the list says.
A KMC official said the civic body had earlier received proposal to construct buildings on the land in 2004 and 2009, but nothing came of it.
A few months ago, a fresh proposal for construction reached the KMC. The civic body sought the opinion of the advocate-general, who recused himself from the matter on the ground that he was a member of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club, the official said.
“The KMC then sought the opinion from a senior empanelled lawyer of the state government at Calcutta High Court. The lawyer said the construction could be allowed,” the official added.
An engineer associated with the project said a residential tower with a basement, ground floor and 35 storeys would be built. There will be 93 dwelling units. “A 1 lakh sq ft retail complex will also be built,” the engineer said.
“We will also give a facelift to the heritage building without any changes. The heritage building will be in possession of the RCTC,” the engineer said.