New Delhi/Patna, May 15 (PTI) A day after the demolition of the centuries-old Patna Collectorate campus began on Supreme Court orders, heritage experts on Sunday described the ruling as a “major blow” to citizen-led efforts for historic preservation across the country and expressed fears that it will “set a bad precedent”.
Bulldozers knocked down the front columns of the 1938-built District Board Patna building in the Patna Collectorate campus on Saturday, a day after the apex court paved the way for the demolition of the complex, parts of which were built during the Dutch era.
On Sunday, the facade of the British-era building was reduced to a skeletal state, as doors made of Burmese teak and bearing ornamental motifs were ripped out of walls and some of the beautiful pilaster Corinthian columns inside the meeting hall were reduced to a pile of rubble by bulldozers.
The court order has shocked heritage lovers in India and abroad. History aficionados and architecture lovers from across the country have described it as “an absolute nightmare”.
Kolkata-based author Amit Chaudhuri told PTI that he was “astonished that some people wanted to demolish such historic buildings in the first place”.
“But I was more astonished to read the observations made by the court before giving the ruling, which I feel will be a terrible blow to public campaigns across India to save historic buildings from demolition,” he said.
Chaudhuri, who has been endeavouring to save the heritage of his city, said the apex court ruling will set “a very bad precedent.” “I fear that tomorrow any unprotected old building can be knocked down citing the case of the Collectorate,” he said, adding it is not just a “terrible thing” for the Collectorate but for heritage buildings elsewhere too.
“I was shocked to read that it has been said that not every old building can be considered heritage, and that this was just a Dutch-era opium warehouse not worthy of preservation,” the author said.
The Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for the demolition of the 18th-century Collectorate complex, saying that not every building built by colonial rulers needs to be preserved.
Delhi-based INTACH had been fighting to save the Collectorate since 2016, soon after the Bihar government announced the decision to demolish it to make way for a new high-rise Collectorate complex. INTACH’s Patna chapter had started the legal battle in 2019.
INTACH Governing Council member G M Kapur said while the demolition may have been allowed, the “heritage value of the Collectorate is still intact”.
“We need to highlight the historicity and beautiful architectural elements of the various buildings of the Collectorate that are from both Dutch era and British era, making them even more worthy of preservation. Besides, the ASI has not said anything on the Collectorate, things need to be put in perspective,” he said.
The complex, parts of which are over 250 years old, is situated on the banks of the Ganga river and has high ceilings, huge doors, and hanging skylights.
The collectorate is one of the last surviving signatures of Dutch architecture in the Bihar capital, especially the Record Room with its magnificent Tuscan pillars, and the old District Engineer’s Office. The British-era structures in its complex include the DM Office Building and District Board Patna Building, besides other buildings of Anglo-Dutch mixed architecture.
Appearing for INTACH, advocate Roshan Santhalia had said during the hearing on Friday that the building was not so unsafe as was projected by the state government and it needed to be protected.
“Restoration, undoubtedly, is the way forward and not demolition. It could have been restored,” he said.
In 2016, soon after the Bihar government’s proposal to demolish the Collectorate, a public movement — ‘Save Historic Patna Collectorate’ — was launched to save the historic landmark. It has members from Patna and other Indian cities, and several foreign countries including the US, the UK, Italy, Canada and Bangladesh.
A Patna-based conservation architect and member of the ‘Save Historic Patna Collectorate’ movement, who did not wish to be named, said he was heartbroken to see the fate of the Collectorate.
“We are all guilty. Forget the government, do people care? Do people still care? Even as we speak, bulldozers are pulling down this heritage. Our Patna will also become a jungle of concrete and glass boxes with no character and no soul.
“What will we tell our future generations? Past and future can co-exist but in Patna, our past has been swallowed in the name of development,” he said.
“We fought a long and tough battle but now I feel hopeless,” he lamented. PTI KND DIV DIV
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