Does Law Permit You To Renovate Your Heritage Property?
Heritage sites in India have over the years been restored and used for commercial purposes, too. However, restoring a heritage site to make it commercially viable and constructing it illegally for commercial purposes are two different things.
In a recent case, which the Delhi High Court was hearing, the legal heir of a haveli at Kucha Pati Ram, in Old Delhi's Sitaram Bazar, renovated and also, had illegally constructed the heritage property to turn it into a mixed-use property with shops and apartments. This haveli was notified as a heritage property by the Delhi Government in 2016.
The HC Bench was hearing a plea by the property owner, seeking a stay on a March 19-demolition order of the front portion of the building by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation.
However, the HC pulled up the property owner and after viewing recent photographs of the property, after the fresh construction, observed that it was "no more a heritage".
So, what is a heritage site?
According to the Ministry of Culture, a heritage building in simple words is a structure possessing architectural, aesthetic, historic and cultural values. A property is declared as heritage by the planning authority or heritage conservation committee or any other competent authority in whose jurisdiction the building lies. This building could include characteristics of historic, socio-cultural value, striking architectural or artistic significance in respect of style, design, use of construction material, etc.
If a property owner goes ahead to renovate the property and changes the values for which the property that makes it heritage, it is no longer considered heritage.
The difference between restoration and renovation
There is a fine line between renovating and restoring a heritage property. While renovation means bringing about substantial change to the property and even doing away with characteristics of the property that make it heritage. For instance, in case of the old Delhi haveli the owner had illegally extended the property and also changed it completely from the inside. This means, most of the characteristics of the haveli have been changed.
In another incident, the HC on April 4 stayed the ongoing construction as it was reported that the Haksar Haveli was on the verge of being destroyed by builders for their financial interests. Haksar Haveli, a centuries-old heritage building in old Delhi is where India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru got married to Kamala Nehru.
The beauty of Haksar Haveli, which hosted mushairas (poetry sessions) and musical programmes till even a few years ago, is being destroyed by the illegal and unauthorised construction being carried out on the premises, the court was earlier informed.
However, in restoration, the beauty and the heritage characteristics of the property are maintained and further enhanced to keep them intact for years to come. In such a scenario, the beauty of the property is maintained even while it is being used for commercial purposes.
One such example is the Zara’s largest retail outlet in India. Located in Mumbai’s Flora Fountain area, the outlet was opened in 2017 in a 111-year-old Ismail Building. The five-storey Edwardian Neo-Classical building was restored by the architects at Zara’s parent group, Inditex, along with local architects Kirtida Unwalla and Mona Sanghvi. Under the restoration process, the designers ensured that they maintained the actual construct of the property and using to the best of what makes it a heritage. For instance, they kept intact the brick walls of the building, some windows were removed to bring forth the original balcony grilles. Stonemasons were also hired to enhance the existing architecture of the structure.
With inputs from Housing News