Eight properties sealed to protect heritage

TNN | Updated: Jun 4, 2019, 6:36 IST

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AHMEDABAD: Coming down heavily on illegal construction on listed world heritage property sites, the estate department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation sealed eight commercial properties in Kalupur, Khadia, and Dariapur areas of the Walled City on Monday.
The AMC has pasted notices which direct the owners of the properties to raze illegal structures immediately.

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Stringent action against illegal construction in the Walled City is required to protect heritage property owners from real estate sharks. The AMC should put up notice boards outside sealed buildings to outline the legal route to apply for TDRs. Owners must be made aware of the norms governing the adaptive reuse of heritage properties.

The notice says that failure to act will result in the AMC pulling down the structures and recovering the demolition costs from the owners.

Five properties were sealed in Khadia, two in Kalupur, and one in Dariapur. “We targeted commercial buildings that were listed as heritage properties,” a senior official of the central zone said. “We noticed owners adding structures to these buildings without permission. In some heritage properties, we noticed that construction was in progress within the building.”
Over the past two weeks, the AMC has stalled illegal construction work in 12 buildings. “We are preparing a detailed report on the number of heritage properties that have been lost to illegal construction since 2016,” the official said.