The scenic exterior of Audrey House in Ranchi on Monday belies the horrors inside; a debris of bricks and concrete untouched since last year when a wall of the Jharkhand State Law Commission office caved in, a dilapidated kitchen now used as a storeroom and an open electric console. Pictures by Hardeep Singh

Seven star-crossed men have been condemned to a life of endless peril in a crumbling edifice of history that goes by the refined colonial identity of Audrey House.

Built in 1854 by Captain Hannyington — deputy commissioner of Chotanagpur between 1850 and 1856 — the two-storey building is an extension of Raj Bhavan, which housed the governor’s secretariat till a year ago. Currently, it haunts the few unfortunate mortals of Jharkhand State Law Commission, including its newly appointed chairman Raj Kishore Mahto.

Frequently caving roofs, rickety walls, mangled wires everywhere, columns of dusty files, open sockets and more had prompted the state building construction department to declare Audrey House as condemned in 2011, within two years of the first ambitious plan to conserve the building as heritage property failed to materialise.

However, the law commission — the apex authority for planning and drafting state laws — continues to work out of mounds of debris, the fallout of decades of neglect and apathy.

Ever since Mahto took charge of the commission on March 23 this year, officials maintain that he has never entered his chamber, fearing that it may come crashing down any moment.

His fears are not unwarranted. A portion of the chairman’s office did collapse on June 20 last year. “Senior officials weren’t in office that day. We were outside enjoying the cool blowing wind, when there was a deafening sound. We rushed in to find that a draught of air had resulted in a portion of the office to cave in,” recalled Santosh Kumar, a senior clerk.

Nobody has bothered to repair the damage since. “The chairman is scared to enter his chamber, which is run-down. Whenever he comes, he shares space with R.K. Jumnaniji (the secretary of the commission). For you it may come as a surprise, but that is how this important government wing is functioning. Seven of us (including the chairman and the secretary) are working in a perilous situation,” Kumar told The Telegraph.

No one seems to be listening to their woes though. “We have stocked over three dozen letters written to the building construction department at regular intervals, seeking office space. But in vain,” rued a senior official of the department, not willing to be named.

“A law commission is an important wing (department) of any state that involves planning and drafting of laws and acts concerning from time to time. The CNT issue is raging now and the department needs to work out ways to neutralise the brewing resentment. But unless and until the chairman, secretary and other officials are able to work, what can be done? You never know when this building may collapse and turn the department into a graveyard,” added another official.

Ironically, the Audrey House premises comprises other government buildings, including the plush Suchana Bhawan that currently hosts the governor’s office.

Some three years ago, Raj Bhavan had raised concern over the poor upkeep of the more than century-old building and asked all existing government offices to vacate premises so that Audrey House could be turn into heritage property. Two sets of revival plans failed to leave the drawing board in 2009 and 2010.

A survey was conducted in mid-2011 to assess the strength of the structure and the building construction department saw no hope of revival. P.K. Singh, executive engineer, put Audrey House on the abandoned list.

However, in December last year, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was roped in for the third time for conservation and restoration work with a corpus of Rs 1.4 crore sanctioned earlier by the state art and culture department. However, state convener of INTACH S.D. Singh claims that the funds never reached them.

“Audrey House used to be the residence of British officers. It is a wood and steel structure with slanting and tiled roof. Two of its main hall has wooden flooring, which adds to the building’s beauty and grandeur,” the INTACH official said.

Principal secretary to the governor A.K. Pandey Tripathi had last year said that they were thinking of turning Audrey House into a cultural resource centre. Engineers at the building construction department, however, had maintained that the plan might materialise only if the Archaeological Survey of India, which is armed with latest renovation technologies, was approached.

Speaking on Monday, Tripathi claimed that the government was still working on the project to conserve and restore the colonial treasure. “But it takes time to co-ordinate with various departments,” he insisted.

Would you ever risk your life to work in such an office?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com