The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is considering sending a proposal to the West Bengal Heritage Commission for revision in the formula of gradation of heritage structures.
[File Photo]
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is considering sending a proposal to the West Bengal Heritage Commission for revision in the formula of gradation of heritage structures.
According to mayor Firhad Hakim, many old structures in the limits of the municipal corporation have earlier been given the heritage gradation without any proper scientific or structural consideration of their values. “In some cases, it has been observed that despite having nothing to do with heritage, a building was given the gradation just like that in the Left regime,” said the mayor. “There have been instances where the heritage building had no connection with any historical figure or even no architectural significance but has been given the gradation. For example, in Kidderpore, six buildings were declared heritage because Michael Madhusudan Dutta had tea there. He did not even stay in those houses. To avoid such situations, we have brought out a formula for gradation of heritage. We are suggesting a scientific approach for heritage tagging taking in account the historical and architectural significance of a building,” he reiterated.
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The proposal is to be sent to the state heritage commission for approval.
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Notably, For the gradation of the structures based on their archeological and historical values, the civic body is also considering roping in experts from IIT Kharagpur and IIEST Shibpur. The experts would categorise and do the numbering of the structures based on the archeological and historical values that the buildings have. According to sources, the system would be followed for gradation of the remaining more than 300 structures that were identified for heritage status by the civic body.
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