Patna HC stays demolition of Collectorate complex

The Patna High Court on Wednesday put a stay on the proposed demolition of the centuries-old Patna Collectorate.

The Patna Chapter of the Delhi-based Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had filed two PILs on August 30 on preservation of the Collectorate and other heritage landmarks of the city.

"Both the petitions were heard together on Wednesday by a division bench comprising Justice Shivaji Pandey and Justice Partho Sarthi. Both these PILs were for conserving the cultural and heritage buildings of Patna," INTACH Patna convener J K Lall said.

"This is a historic moment and will set the precedent for historic preservation in other cities," he said.

The hearing went for around 30 minutes after which the court directed the state to file its reply within four weeks and further made the Patna Municipal Corporation a party to the proceedings, Lall said.

It has further directed restraining the respondent authorities from "causing any harm to the collectorate building until further orders", he said.

In one of the two PILs, the INTACH had sought constitution of the Bihar Urban Arts and Heritage Commission as envisioned under the "Bihar Urban Planning Development Act 2012," said Sanket, an advocate from the INTACH Patna team.

"This Act was notified on December 27, 2012 itself, but the state government since last seven years had failed to constitute the said commission at the cost of cultural heritage and monumental buildings which are already in dilapidated condition throughout the state and especially, in the city of Patna," the INTACH Patna said in a statement.

In the second PIL, a relief was sought for restraining immediately the authorities who were "bent upon demolishing the Patna Collectorate and ancillary buildings there by eradicating forever the city from its history which traces back to more than 200 years", it said.

A people's movement Save Historic Patna Collectorate has been striving for the last three years to save the Collectorate from demolition and had proposed to the government to restore it and adaptively use it as a cafe or some cultural space.

"It is a a small victory, a moral victory for our team, but it will pave the way for preservation of other historic buildings in Patna and rest of Bihar which have been lying in decay," said Rajiv Soni, an independent researcher, and supporter of the campaign.

The campaign had garnered support of then Dutch government and the UK-based Gandhi Foundation.

The Oscar-winning film "Gandhi" starring Ben Kingsley was shot partly at the Record Room and DM office.