Nagpur: The Centre has approved 16.92 crore for the restoration of the historic old building of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, nearly half of the 30-crore proposal submitted for the conservation project, the high court was informed on Monday.During the hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation concerning the deteriorating condition of the heritage structure, a division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode was orally informed that the Centre cleared 16.92 crore towards the restoration project.The bench, however, directed the Centre and the Maharashtra govt to file an affidavit explaining the statutory provisions, govt resolutions and procedural framework governing the sanction and release of the funds. The court also sought details on whether the approved amount would be released in phases and the timeline for disbursement.The high court initiated the PIL on its own after taking note of the poor condition of the century-old court building. Earlier, the restoration work was entrusted to the Public Works Department (PWD).As the structure is a protected heritage monument, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) maintained that all conservation work must strictly comply with ASI’s heritage conservation norms.At the previous hearing, the court was informed that a proposal seeking nearly 30 crore for restoration and renovation of the building was submitted to the Centre. On Monday, the govt counsel informed the bench that approval was granted for 16.92 crore.After recording the submission, the bench directed the authorities to place the complete details on record through a sworn affidavit before the next hearing.Amicus curiae Ashutosh Dharmadhikari assisted the court. Advocate Mugdha Chandurkar appeared for the Centre, while Advocate Deepak Thakre represented the Maharashtra govt.The matter has been posted for further hearing later this week.
