The Hindu : New Delhi News : `Lutyens' Bungalow Zone' faces threat from the very occupants

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Monday, Sep 13, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

`Lutyens' Bungalow Zone' faces threat from the very occupants

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 12. Conservation and preservation of heritage has never been a priority with the powers that be. And this is more than evident today in Lutyens' Delhi where occupants of scores of spacious bungalows are violating building norms with impunity. If earlier it was the Ministers in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government, now it is the turn of those in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government to do up their bungalows breaking all rules.

Blatant unauthorised constructions were carried out in nearly 30 bungalows occupied by Ministers in the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA Government, including that of the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani. In several cases, even the basic character of the bungalows was tampered with. From building additional rooms, constructing office blocks, extending or covering verandas to extending servant quarters and building new toilets and kitchens -- all types of additions and alterations have been made in these bungalows.

Among the ministers of the NDA Government who carried out unauthorised constructions were Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu, Shahnawaz Hussain, Sharad Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Santosh Gangwar, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, B.C. Khanduri, Bachi Singh Rawat, Vijay Goel and Ravi Shankar Prasad, while Ram Vilas Paswan, Kumari Selja, E. Ahmad and Sunil Dutt are among the Ministers in the present Congress-led UPA Government who occupy such altered heritage bungalows. Even in the offices of the two main political parties -- the Congress and the BJP -- such unauthorised constructions have been carried out.

Ministers and prominent political leaders are not the only ones who have carried out major alterations in bungalows allotted to them. Even Members of Parliament openly flout the norms to suit their needs.

Conservationists say not a single heritage bungalow has been left untouched despite there being clear-cut guidelines and restrictions on such constructions. In fact, only the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is responsible for upkeep and preservation of these bungalows, can carry out any renovation work in these bungalows. But ironically in most cases, it is the leaders themselves who get unauthorised constructions done by private contractors without even informing the CPWD.

For instance, the latest casualty in the long list of "damaged and unpreserved" bungalows is 27 Lodi Estate near Dyal Singh College. Spread over 2,000 sq. m., the bungalow has been allotted to Amar Singh, the Rajya Sabha member of the Samajwadi Party. It is almost six months since construction activity started in the bungalow. Its entire façade stands changed now. The front portion of the bungalow has been extended and new windows and doors added. Even a three-room office complex has come up in the premises.

To be sure, a majority of the new Ministers and even MPs who have been allotted these bungalows are carrying out such unauthorised constructions. These days one can see mortar and bricks being ferried to bungalows allotted to the Union Sports Minister, Sunil Dutt, and the MP from New Delhi, Ajay Maken, to carry out "necessary renovations" before they move in. Significantly, the World Monuments Fund, a New York-based non-government organisation dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered works of art and architecture across the globe, under its "World Monuments Watch" programme in 2001 had listed the "Lutyens' Bungalow Zone" as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world. Since then many such alterations have been carried out in the various bungalows.

"In other countries, leaders and law-makers lead from the front in creating awareness among people about the need to preserve their heritage and culture. But here in India, leaders are least bothered about preserving our cultural heritage and they are the ones abetting encroachments and unauthorised constructions," rues conservation architect Ratish Nanda.

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