Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s lack of power to save historical buildings from demolition was underscored by the razing of Rector’s Bungalow of Gujarat College, but now the civic body is clearing the ground to acquire such authority. To prevent the demolition of historically significant buildings outside the old city, the AMC wants to tag them as heritage sites. Once these buildings receive the tag, the corporation will have the legal standing to stop their demolition. The AMC can then focus on the renovation and maintenance of such structures. Although the corporation managed to halt the demolition of some heritage structures, such as those within the Shahibaug Circuit House complex and Gaekwad Haveli premises, the Rector’s Bungalow fell. Now, the historical science lab building of Gujarat College also faces the prospect of razing. A few months ago, the corporation wrote to the city police to prevent the razing of some heritage structures within the Gaekwad Haveli premises in the Raikhad area. The police stopped the demolition.The state govt’s road and building department also initiated the move to demolish the old Circuit House building in Shahibaug, but the corporation intervened. The AMC cited the structure’s historical significance and managed to halt the demolition. But the civic body has realized that only writing letters won’t help. An official from the AMC, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that in Dec 2014, a survey of historically significant buildings outside the old city area was conducted by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The report identified 861 historical buildings, of which 382 were graded. Now, the corporation plans to tag over 400 of these buildings as heritage sites. Once tagged, the corporation will offer transfer of development rights for the buildings’ maintenance. The official further stated that outside the old city area, there are historically significant buildings such as the Fatehbaugh Palace in Fatehwadi village and Gujarat Vidyapith. A list of buildings will be published soon, inviting public objections and suggestions before finalizing the heritage tags. Since Ahmedabad was designated a Unesco World Heritage City in 2017, historical buildings outside the old city area have been neglected.
