Committee to preserve heritage buildings

 
A meeting of the Union Cabinet on Thursday decided that all addition/alteration works, including repairs involving changes in the original specifications in the buildings, would be carried out only after consulting the Special Advisory Committee on Conservation and Protection of the North/South Block.

The government has also issued guidelines to be followed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and the ministries and departments occupying the North and the South Block to regulate and guide all future works.

Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni said the Union Cabinet had taken the decision, as the buildings of the North and the South Block were valuable heritage structures and the government felt that they needed to be conserved in their original form and shape to the extent possible.

Soni was addressing a news conference after the Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She said the guidelines were issued because it was necessary to ensure that the heritage character and architecture of the buildings were not adversely affected, while providing modern amenities to meet the present-day requirements like climate control and other facilities.

The advisory committee will be chaired by the additional director general (architecture) of the CPWD.