Kolkata, April 16 -- The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has set a procedure for processing sanction plan proposals for addition, alteration, new construction, demolition, repair, or restoration of heritage structures categorised as Grade-IIA, IIB, and III.
A circular by the civic body in this regard also addresses procedures for Grade-I heritage premises and introduces updates to the e-KMC system for handling such cases.
A KMC Building department official said, such a procedure will establish a structured workflow for handling plan proposals, emphasising collaboration between the Environment & Heritage (E&H) Department, Building department and Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC).
The circular mandates that all proposals be submitted to the E&H department with property documentation with details including the property's history, significance, past and present use, ownership, maintenance records, interventions, photographs and legal status of the existing structure. A condition assessment document containing investigations and findings is also required. Proposed drawings, including plans, materials and construction methodology are to be submitted, besides the repair and restoration details.
The Building department will conduct a preliminary scrutiny on receiving a set of plans (existing and proposed floor plans, sections and elevations). The department will then send its observations to the E&H Department.
The E&H department will send its proposal to the HCC for evaluation. Upon HCC's recommendation, it will be forwarded to Mayor-in-Council (MIC) for final resolution. Such a resolution will be communicated to the applicant by the E&H department. Copies of HCC recommendations, MIC resolutions, applicant's letter and HCC-approved drawings are to be sent to the
Building department.
The E&H department will remove the "heritage lock" after completing its review and notify the Building department which will then process the case per KMC norms. Meanwhile, the proposals for Grade-I heritage premises are to be submitted directly to the E&H Department. These cases will proceed solely based on MIC resolutions, which are informed by HCC recommendations. This indicates a higher scrutiny level and restriction for Grade-I heritage structures due to their significant cultural and historical value, said the official.
The circular also introduced the upcoming 'e-KMC-2.0 system' which will include a building plan sanction module with a dedicated "Part-AA" process where the case will be placed before E&H Department for heritage clearance. Once obtained, it will be placed for obtaining a no objection certificate from other departments.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.