The owner of a building in central Kolkata whose gate is listed as a heritage structure called mayor Firhad Hakim on Thursday and expressed her helplessness in maintaining the building.
The caller, a woman from Indian Mirror Street, said she wanted to erect a new building in place of the existing one and had even spoken with a developer. But the project has failed to take shape since the gate of the building is tagged as a heritage structure, she said.
The woman told Hakim that she and others who live in the building do not have the means to restore the structure, which is why they want a new building to come up in place of the crumbling one that stands now.
Her plight mirrors that of many Kolkatans who are saddled with palatial buildings but lack the means to repair or restore them.
"The building's gate has been declared as a heritage structure but no one has come forward for its maintenance. Even the building, which is in a dilapidated state, cannot be touched because the gate features on the list of heritage structures," the woman said.
"The developer we spoke to said they could not do anything as the gate is on the heritage list."
Hakim, who received the call during the weekly phone-in programme Talk to Mayor, asked officials to enquire about the building. While the woman was still on the call, officials checked on computers and confirmed that the building's gate was on the heritage list.
The mayor then asked the caller to write to him with the appeal that she be allowed to erect a new building and mention in the appeal that only the gate is a heritage structure. “I will place the matter before the heritage conservation committee. They will decide what to do,” he told the woman.
The committee, which includes architects, academics, government officials and police officers, is empowered to take the final decision on any heritage structure in the Kolkata municipal area.
A KMC official told The Telegraph that the owners of many heritage buildings often admit to them that they did not have the money to maintain the structures. Many heritage buildings are in poor condition because of lack of maintenance.
The KMC has allowed commercial complexes to come up in place of some heritage structures after ensuring that the façade was intact. A mall has come up in place of Metro cinema in Esplanade keeping intact the façade of the heritage theatre.
The official said there should not be any bar on the demolition of the building on Indian Mirror Street since only the gate was on the heritage list.
The mayor later said there was no bar on the restoration of heritage buildings if the owners agreed to retain the “heritage look”.
“There are many heritage structures in the city that are in a dilapidated condition. People should approach us with a proposal for restoration. We will allow restoration if they agree to maintain the heritage look,” he said.
