STAR BILLING

• Metro cinema on JL Nehru Road • Globe theatre, on Lindsay Street • Lighthouse, at Humayun Place • New Empire at Humayun Place • Temple complex of Kudghat on Chandi Ghosh Road • Building at 7, Lord Sinha Road • Mahabodhi Society on Bankim Chatterjee Street • DC (North) office on APC Road • House of Sister Nivedita in Bosepara Lane • Indian Coffee House on Bankim Chatterjee Street • Kanak Building on JL Nehru Road • Bhowanipore Brahmo Samaj on Puddapukur Road • Royal Exchange Place on NS Road

Thirteen new buildings are being included in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) list of heritage structures after their survey and documentation was completed recently. The new additions were approved on Tuesday at the mayor-in-council meeting.

These 13 structures, seemingly chosen at random, will be put before the civic house meeting for ratification on Wednesday.

In 1996, heritage status was conferred on 76 structures in Calcutta under the Land Use and Development Control Planning Act of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority. The list was neither exhaustive nor inclusive. So, the state government set up a heritage committee for the CMC. Subsequently, the body embarked on the task of preparing a comprehensive list of such structures. In four years’ time, a list of more than 1,200 buildings in Calcutta was ready.

Of these 1,200 structures, 820 have been shortlisted for survey and documentation. Over the past year, the municipal architect and town planning department of the CMC has completed the survey and documentation of 13 buildings. According to the heritage rules, only structures that are 100 years old or more qualify for heritage status. Which is why landmarks such as the Victoria Memorial Hall have not made it to the CMC list.

Going by this rule, of these 13 buildings, only about six qualify as heritage structures. These are the temple complex at Kudghat, the DC (North) office on APC Road (that was originally the residence of Raja Rammohun Roy and is about 200 years old), the house of Sister Nivedita in Bosepara Lane, Kanak Building on JL Nehru Road (originally Army & Navy Store), Bhowanipore Brahmo Samaj on Puddapukur Road and the Royal Exchange Place, on NS Road, in the Dalhousie area.

Mayor Subrata Mukherjee said on Tuesday that marking out these buildings is the first step towards conservation of the city’s heritage. However, conservation and preservation requires funds, and neither the state nor the central government provides funds for this.

The DC (North) office has been rebuilt recently and little of the original structure has survived. The same can be said of the Kudghat temples.

As to 7 Lord Sinha Road, is it 17 Elysium Row (the road was renamed after Sinha following his death in the Twenties), where he originally lived? Or does that credit go to the Intelligence Bureau office (No 13) on the same road?