Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Monday pressed for an expedited decision on a 19 crore conservation proposal for the historic Old High Court Building in Civil Lines, directing the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take a final call within a week.The directives came during the hearing of a suo motu PIL over the deteriorating condition of the century-old heritage structure, regarded as one of the city’s most prominent judicial landmarks. Ashutosh Dharmadhikari was appointed as amicus curiae.A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode was informed that the revised restoration proposal was jointly prepared by the ASI and the Public Works Department (PWD) after a detailed review meeting conducted under earlier court directions.ASI counsel Mugdha Chandurkar informed that the revised proposal would now be forwarded to the ASI director general in New Delhi for approval. Taking note of the submission, the court directed the ASI chief to decide on the proposal within seven days and fixed July 6 for further hearing.Initially, renovation and repair work was proposed to be undertaken by the PWD. However, ASI informed the court that since the structure falls under the category of protected heritage monuments, all restoration work would have to comply with conservation norms and archaeological preservation guidelines.During earlier proceedings, the court was informed that an initial proposal of nearly 30 crore was prepared for restoration and structural strengthening. Subsequently, additional time was sought to reassess the project and revise estimates.The bench then directed the PWD and ASI to jointly review the proposal, incorporate technical corrections and finalise a practical conservation roadmap. Following the joint meeting, authorities prepared a revised 19 crore proposal for preservation and restoration of the building.
