KMC to seek fresh opinion on RCTC plot

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to revoke its decision to allow the construction of new buildings on the Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) plot on Russell Street, mayor Firhad Hakim told Metro on Saturday.

He said they would seek a fresh opinion from the West Bengal Heritage Commission.

The civic body’s mayoral council, which is made up of the mayor and all mayoral council members, voted in favour of allowing the construction of new buildings in its mayoral council meeting on Wednesday.

On Saturday, Hakim said, he wanted to revoke the decision.

The mayor said he felt that opinion from the heritage commission should be sought since the RCTC plot has a grade-I heritage building standing on it.

“We have decided that we will approach the West Bengal Heritage Commission.... Though the government pleader had given his opinion, we want to take the opinion of the heritage commission.” 

Sources in the civic body said the KMC had first sought the opinion of the advocate-general on whether the construction of new buildings can be allowed on the plot.

The advocate-general recused himself from giving an opinion because he is a member of the RCTC, an official said.

The KMC then approached the government pleader in Calcutta High Court, who said that construction can be allowed. 

“This is a grade-I heritage building and we want to be extra careful. So, we will seek the opinion of the West Bengal Heritage Commission,” Hakim told Metro.

The Graded List of Heritage Buildings of Calcutta, published by the KMC, listed the building on the Russel Streetplot as a  grade-I heritage structure. The criteria for listing is “recreational”. 

According to the  GradedList, “no external change will be permissible” for a grade-Iheritage building. “Use of the building should also be compatible with the category of the heritage building,” the list says.

A proposal for the construction of buildings on the 4-acre plot first came to the KMC in 2004, said an official. The heritage conservation committee (HCC) of the KMC then approved the proposal but no construction started. Another proposal, with some revisions, again came in 2009 and was approved again by the KMC. This time, too, no construction started.

The latest proposal came last year.

The current members of the HCC approved the proposal for construction, which was subsequently put up before the mayoral council on Wednesday.

An engineer associated with the project said the proposal is to build a residential tower with a basement, ground floor and 35 storeys. There will be 93 dwelling units. “A 1 lakh sq ft retail complex will also be built,” the engineer said. 

“We will also give a facelift to the heritage building without any changes.”