Heritage under attack

PMC turns blind eye to construction near heritage structures; updated list of important sites not ready even after 12 yrs

For 12 years the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been sitting on the task of creating an updated list of heritage structures in the city. And that is not all.According to a government rule issued in 2004, no construction is allowed within 100 metre of a heritage structure, but the civic body has been guilty of ignoring the rule right, left and centre.

Heritage structures in the city are dilapidated, and there seems to be no effort to ensure that they are maintained properly. Construction is rampant close to heritage structures like Khunya Murlidhar, Nana Wada, Rameshwar Mandir, Raste Wada, Viththalwadi Temple, Shaniwarwada, National Films Archives, Jangli Maharaj Samadhi, Chatuhshrungi Hills, Parvati Hills, Narsinh Mandir, Kanya Shala and Sadashiv Peth Haud.u00a0

Such construction also affects those who occupy the premises. Take the example of the 300-year-old historic Shaniwarwada and the construction near it. Suresh Joshi resides near the wada in a building that came up before the Protected Monument Act was enforced in 1992. "It is sad that we can't even repair our own houses as the act does not allow us to do so," said Joshi. "There should be amendments in the law to enforce it properly in the present context."

Vinod Jain, an environmentalist, said an ancient temple's existence was under threat in Ganj Peth. "The temple is likely to be demolished for a building by a local builder," said Jain. "No one bothers to take a go-ahead from the ASI (Archaoelogical Survey of India) or the Heritage Cell of the PMC."

Kiran Kalamdani, a conservation architect who had submitted a proposal to finalise the protected monuments list on behalf of his organisation Kimaya, said the PMC can enforce the Protected Monument Act stringently and also get funding from JNNURM to use it for tourism by upgrading heritage sites in the city.

"We are getting no response from the PMC till date because there is no political and bureaucratic will," said Kalamdani. "The law is stringent and if any government official is found guilty of violating the Protected Monument Act, he is liable for imprisonment and fine."

A nursery has been constructed at the Peshwa Haud (water tank) atu00a0 Sadashiv Peth. A Grade II heritage structure, the tank belongs to the Vishnu Dev Trust. "We are not going for any construction there," said Kulkarni, an employee of the trust. But he did not say why the historic tank had been plastered with cement.

Vasant Nulkar, trustee, Devdeveshwar Trust, Parvati Hills, said the temples there were surrounded by slums.

"These temples constructed in the Peshwa era have been surrounded by slums since the 1970s. We had taken up the issue with the PMC but the land on the hill is owned by private parties. The PMC had tried to shift the slums to other areas two decades ago, but did not succeed," said Nulkar.

V N Kamble, Assistant Director, ASI, Pune, said, "We are not the enforcing agency. We just point out what is going wrong to our superiors in the state and at the Centre. If the issue is related to the PMC, we ask it to take proper legal action."