PGGC awaits approval of home ministry of GOI to repair the old heritage furniture and items

CHANDIGARH: After a period of almost 60 years, Post Graduate Government College at sector 11 is disposing off its redundant furniture and other items. The efforts are being made to restore some of the items which are categorized as heritage ones for being in the campus since the era of Le Corbusier, city’s legendary architect. Chief Architect Kapil Setia has advised to show urgency in their restoration lest they should decay for being quite old.

Principal Rama Arora said, “It indeed is a challenging task to dispose off the old stock, which has been hoarding up in college stores and occupying space, with the limited staff available to us. All this stuff will be auctioned off by the Chandigarh administration while the heritage ones which have been in the college building since Le Corbusier’s time will be repaired and restored after following the proper procedure for it .”

It is the office of chief architect which maintain the inventory of heritage items and handles their restoration as well. Kapil Setia, chief architect told TOI, “A methodology has been prepared to repair 20 chairs of PGGC in the first lot which will be applied on the other heritage furniture of college also. The college has also arranged for machines for repair and hired staff carpenter also but approval from home ministry of Government of India is awaited to start the procure to restore and reuse the items.”

He said that a museum will be created to put such heritage things on display in future. Those which have become too old to be restored, for them, law department of Chandigarh administration will seek legal permission from GOI to auction. “In all these years , the heritage furniture have become quite old. I have asked the college authorities not to delay the restoration process anymore after getting the due approval to save them from rotting ,” said Setia.

There is a heritage committee constituted by Chandigarh administration which is empowered to give certification of an item being heritage or not. People can sell off ones which belong to the latter category.

Sangeeta Bagga, acting principal, Chandigarh College of Architecture stressed on safeguarding the heritage things of the city saying, “Chandigarh is a new city which does not have a history or heritage of hundreds of years. For it , its old things are heritage possessions, just like table cloth made by granny with intricate embroidery can be a piece of prized possession for any family. Unlike today’s times, furniture in olden times was beautiful handcrafted in teak and other precious wood and joined together with bolts. If broken open, architecture of that time is revealed in that wooden piece. These are the heirlooms which have been passing from one generations and should be restored at all cost.”