Guj: HC seeks conservation committee for heritage structures

The Gujarat High Court today directed the state government to form a conservation committee to preserve the heritage structures in the state.
The court, while passing the order, also disposed of a public interest litigation which had demanded that the 19th century Nazarbaug palace at Vadodara be protected.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice V M Sahai and Justice R P Dholaira had earlier asked the state to form a committee to conserve the palace within three months. But the palace was razed by the civic authorities in the meantime.
Sanjay Joshi of Vadodara-based Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) had filed a PIL in this regard.

The PIL contended that the palace, in the possession of Sangramsinh Gaekwad, a member of the erstwhile princely state of Vadodara, cannot be razed when the process of getting heritage status was underway.
The PIL was filed after Sangramsinh's family reportedly planned to construct a commercial-cum-residential complex on the land. The family had contended that the palace was in a dilapidated condition and would not survive the monsoon.