POLICY DOSSIER: OPERATIONALIZING BENGALURU’S STATUTORY HERITAGE CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

A Policy Dossier & Briefing Note structured specifically for Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, IAS (Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka), followed by an executive One-Page Action & SOP Sheet (covering departmental instructions, inter-departmental protocols, and heritage-sensitive asset management, including institutional/educational blocks and hostels) that can be circulated directly at the meeting.

(Note: The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024—notified in April 2025—has superseded the BBMP Act, 2020, making this the ideal moment to operationalize the statutory Heritage Committee under the new GBA architecture while enforcing pending High Court mandates.)

POLICY DOSSIER: OPERATIONALISING BENGALURU’S STATUTORY HERITAGE CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

Submitted to: Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and GBA Adninitrator and Commissioner

Submitted by: Heritage Beku (Citizens’ Movement for Bengaluru’s Natural, Built & Cultural Heritage)

Subject: Urgent Notification of the Statutory Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) & Inter-Departmental Moratorium Following the Demolition of the Historic University Law College / ICHR Building (1 Palace Road)

1. Executive Summary & The Immediate Trigger

Bengaluru faces an acute governance vacuum in urban heritage protection. Despite explicit statutory mandates under the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act (KTCPA), the BBMP Act, 2020 (Chapter XXII), and now the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 (Act 36 of 2025), Bengaluru still lacks a functional, gazetted Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC).

• The Trigger (1 Palace Road): Weeks ago, the iconic red-brick University Law College (ULC) building near Mysore Bank Circle—which also housed the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) Southern Regional Centre and tens of thousands of rare books and maps—was demolished overnight without public notice, departmental transparency, or conservation review. This occurred despite conservation architect Dr. Rabindra Vasawada (Heritage Beku) having submitted a low-cost, rapid restoration roadmap to university officials.

• The Loophole: In repeated demolitions—including the centenary-old Krumbiegel Hall and the 120-year-old Seshadripuram Police Station—executing departments (PWD, Police, Higher Education) have cited the exact same technical excuse: "The building is not on an officially notified heritage list."

• The Consequence: Until the State Government gazettes the statutory HCC and publishes an official graded inventory, every public landmark—from Carlton House and the State Central Library to historic university blocks and hostels—remains legally defenseless against unilateral demolition.

2. Statutory & Judicial Imperatives (Why Action is Mandatory)

Failure to constitute and empower the HCC exposes the State Government to judicial scrutiny and violates existing legislative frameworks:

Legal / Judicial Pillar

Key Provision / Directive

Current Implementation Gap

Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 (Act 36 of 2025)

Mandates the constitution of a Heritage Committee for the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA) and tasks Municipal Corporations with preparing and maintaining a graded list of Heritage Buildings, Precincts, and Natural Feature Areas.

Transition from BBMP to GBA has stalled notification; Municipal Corporations have yet to constitute heritage sub-committees or publish graded lists.

BBMP Act, 2020 (Chapter XXII, Sec. 298–303)

Sec. 298: Places statutory duty on the civic corporation to conserve heritage sites and issue demolition/maintenance guidelines. Sec. 301 & 303: Mandates a Heritage Conservation Committee to list, grade, and approve/reject structural alterations.

Carried over in spirit into the GBA framework, yet remained un-operationalized throughout the BBMP tenure due to administrative delays.

KTCPA Zonal Regulations (Amendment) 2020

Established Grades I, II, and III heritage classifications and assigned HCC powers to the Bangalore Urban Arts Commission (BUAC) in Bengaluru.

BUAC has been defunct since 2001–2002. Assigning HCC duties to a defunct body created a 20-year regulatory void.

Karnataka High Court Interventions (2023–Present)

In a PIL filed by Adv. S. Umapathi, a Division Bench (CJ Prasanna B. Varale & Justice M.G.S. Kamal) issued notices to GoK and BBMP for failing to constitute the statutory Heritage Conservation Committee and Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC). The Court has also consistently enforced statutory bars against unauthorized alterations near heritage sites.

Compliance affidavits and final constitution of an empowered committee remain pending before the Court.

3. Structural Flaws to Avoid (Expert Governance Inputs)

In policy reviews of the 2020 Heritage Regulations, urban planner Prof. Champaka Rajagopal and Heritage Beku identified critical structural flaws that rendered previous drafts ineffective. As the Chief Secretary operationalizes the committee under the GBA Act, 2024, the Government Order (GO) must correct these pitfalls:

1. Executive Power, Not Just Advisory: A purely advisory committee is routinely bypassed by line departments (PWD, Higher Education, Home, BMRCL). No demolition, structural alteration, or change-of-use permit for any public or private structure over 50 years old should be valid without a formal No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the HCC.

2. Balanced Civic & Technical Representation: Under the GBA Act, the committee composition leans heavily toward ex-officio bureaucrats. Using government nomination provisions, the committee must include independent conservation architects, urban planners, historians, and civil society representatives (such as Heritage Beku and INTACH) alongside elected municipal representatives once corporation polls conclude.

3. Decentralized Corporation-Level Sub-Committees: Given the high concentration of historic structures in Central and South Bengaluru, dedicated Corporation-level Heritage Sub-Committees must be established immediately, followed by Ward-level Heritage Committees post-elections.

4. Adaptive Reuse & Heritage Repair Fund: Establish a dedicated Heritage Conservation Fund and clear adaptive reuse norms so departments (like Universities and Police) maintain historic buildings instead of demolishing them for new construction.

4. Reference Links & Documentation Archive

• Statutory & Policy Frameworks:

• The Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 (Act 36 of 2025) – PRS Legislative Research

• Analysis of Heritage Provisions in the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act – ORF

• Heritage Beku Policy Critique & Prof. Champaka Rajagopal’s Framework

• Citizen Matters: Explainer on Bengaluru Zonal Regulations & Defunct BUAC

• 1 Palace Road (ULC / ICHR) & Institutional Heritage Documentation:

• The New Indian Express: History of the 1 Palace Road Building ("A Glimpse of Unadulterated History")

• The Hindu: "A Heritage Structure at Risk" (ICHR Southern Regional Centre)

• Change.org Citizen Petition: Demand Overdue Heritage Preservation Committee

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SUGGESTED ONE-PAGE EXECUTIVE BRIEF & ACTION DIRECTIVE

For Circulation by the Office of the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka

TO: Additional Chief Secretaries / Principal Secretaries (Urban Development, Higher Education, Public Works, Home, Law, Tourism) & Chief Commissioner, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) SUBJECT: Immediate Constitution of the Heritage Conservation Committee & Moratorium on Demolition of Historic Public Buildings, Academic Blocks, and Hostels

1. IMMEDIATE DECISIONS REQUIRED AT TODAY’S MEETING

1. Issue Notification within 15 Days: The Urban Development Department (UDD) and GBA shall issue the formal Government Order constituting the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC) under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, incorporating independent conservation architects, historians, and civic representatives.

2. Adopt the Baseline Heritage Inventory (30 Days): Immediately adopt the existing INTACH / BDA / Heritage Beku compiled list of ~800+ heritage structures as a Provisional Protected List so no building can be demolished on the pretext of "not being officially listed."

3. Establish Zonal Sub-Committees: Constitute dedicated Heritage Sub-Committees for Central Bengaluru and South Bengaluru Municipal Corporations immediately.

2. MANDATORY INTER-DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTIVE (ALL DEPARTMENTS & UNIVERSITIES)

Effective immediately, no State Department, Parastatal (PWD, BMRCL, KRDCL), Police Wing, or State University shall demolish, strip, or radically alter any public structure, administrative block, or residential hostel built prior to 1975 (50+ years old) without prior written clearance from the Heritage Conservation Committee.

3. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) FOR HISTORIC INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS & HOSTELS

Many of Bengaluru’s oldest stone and brick structures are student hostels, university departments, faculty quarters, and government offices (e.g., Central College, UVCE, Bangalore University, Maharani’s, and Medical College campuses). Departments often seek demolition citing "structural weakness" or "capacity shortage." All departments must follow this mandatory protocol:

• Step 1 — Structural Audit by Conservation Experts: A standard PWD condemnation certificate is not sufficient to demolish a load-bearing lime-mortar or brick heritage building/hostel. Any structural assessment must be co-signed by a Conservation Structural Engineer empanelled by the HCC.

• Step 2 — Mandatory Adaptive Reuse & Retrofitting: Where a historic hostel or academic block requires upgrading (plumbing, electrical, roofing, seismic retrofitting), departments must prioritize non-invasive conservation retrofitting rather than demolition.

• Step 3 — Decanting & New Capacity: If additional hostel beds or classrooms are required, new construction must be sited on non-heritage plots within the campus, maintaining a statutory buffer and visual harmony with the historic structure.

• Step 4 — Archival & Asset Protection: Before any repair work begins on institutional buildings housing libraries, archives, or laboratories (as in the ICHR Palace Road incident), the parent department must submit a catalogued relocation plan for all books, maps, and artifacts.

4. ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION ON 1 PALACE ROAD (ULC / ICHR)

• Department of Higher Education & Bangalore University to submit a factual report within 7 days detailing: (a) the administrative approvals and structural reports used to demolish the ULC building, and (b) the current physical status and safe custody of the ICHR Southern Regional Centre’s library and rare archival collections.