Before bestowing on Dalhousie Square (BBD Bag) the status of the city?s first heritage zone, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) is set to commission by June a Rs 1-crore pilot project for the western side of Laldighi, the waterbody at its epicentre.

?The Dalhousie area was the seat of the first capital of the British India Empire, and it remained so for 137 years till 1911. The entire planning of the area and its skyline was the brainchild of the British rulers. The area is now lying in a sorry state. We must preserve its colonial architecture and maintain the area in a befitting manner,? said mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya.

According to municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay, a stretch of about 400 metres between the Reserve Bank of India building and the crossing of Council House Street, via the General Post Office, on the western side of Lal Dighi has been selected for the pilot project.

Since it is an ambitious project covering the entire BBD Bag area and requires the involvement of many stakeholders, the CMC will carry it out in phases, Bandyopadhyay said.

The pilot scheme will serve as a real-life model that other stakeholders can follow.

The tender for the work will be invited within a week, said an engineer in the department of chief municipal architect and town planner.

All the roadside fencing on the stretch will be replaced with cast-iron railings bearing colonial designs. The thrust of the project will be on reviving the architectural beauty of the majestic buildings.

The paving stones of the pavements will be replaced with granite cobblestone.

The buildings owned by different agencies, both government and private, located within the stretch have already been requested to give the facades a facelift and add decorative features in keeping with their look.

The city civic authorities will not renew licences for putting up billboards in the area. Even building-owners who have erected their own billboards will be advised to limit their dimensions to the size to be specified by the chief municipal architect and town planner. The authorities will help building-owners choose colour schemes and the design of the decorative features.