Times of India: Ahmedabad: Wednesday, July 04, 2018.
Information acquired under the RTI Act by a Kalupur resident, Pankaj Bhatt, reveals that Jamalpur ward has 260 illegal buildings, Shahibaug has 167, Dariapur has 144, Shahpur has 80-odd, and Asarwa has 45
Bhupendra
Desai, 81, of Dhobi ni Pol in Khadia, reminisces about his pol which had a
touch of the old-world charm, with small but beautifully carved havelis lining
the neighbourhood. “I am witness to how greed, family divisions, and the quest
for modern buildings destroyed some of the beloved heritage structures,” he
said. “Most of them were torn down and replaced with garish buildings with
glass façades.”
Desai’s pain
is shared by scores of pol old-timers. Between 2002 and 2018, 34,802
residential buildings within the central zone of the Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) the heritage zone turned commercial. In the same period, only
12,119 buildings were registered as new residential buildings with the AMC’s
property tax department. This year, 9,830 residential buildings were cleared by
the AMC for commercial use. “But according to the estate department notice of
July 27, 2017, most of the owners of these properties have to produce proof
that they have been using these buildings for commercial purposes,” said a senior
town development officer. “Interestingly, most buildings have not, and nor are
we aware how many fall under the heritage category.”
Back in 2002,
there were 88,098 commercial properties in the central zone; the figure
increased to 1.22 lakh in 2017-18. Ashok Patel, a heritage tour organizer in
the Walled City, said: “We will lose many heritage buildings before the idea of
conservation really catches on.” Patel is quick to point out that AMC’s own
drive against illegal constructions fizzled out, emboldening the construction
mafia to replace havelis with three-floor apartments.
Throughout
2011, when the Walled City figured on Unesco’s tentative list of World Heritage
cities, 398 illegal buildings in the central zone got demolition notices from
the AMC. By December 2016, the number of illegal buildings had risen to 1,073.
A majority of these illegal structures 377 were traced to Khadia ward which has
the highest number of listed heritage properties and is Ahmedabad’s showcase
for Unesco. There are six wards in the central zone.
Information
acquired under the RTI Act by a Kalupur resident, Pankaj Bhatt, reveals that
Jamalpur ward has 260 illegal buildings, Shahibaug has 167, Dariapur has 144,
Shahpur has 80-odd, and Asarwa has 45.
.JPG)
.JPG)
