In what former Mayor K.J. Sohan calls “frightening”, Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) has taken up projects in the Fort Kochi heritage zone and the area outside the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry.
The ₹1.21-crore project to “upgrade” the entrance to the Dutch Palace involves fixing the drain that runs adjacent to the outer wall of the palace, besides laying tiles in the parking area and setting up lamp posts. CSML sources said the tiles were being laid to beautify the parking area.
“This was just a huge waste of funds in an area with rich historical significance. It is not that the area must not develop, but laying tiles is not the way to go about it,” said K.J. Antony, corporation councillor from West Kochi.
The palace, which housed the Cochin royal family, was originally built around 1555 by the Portuguese and renovated by the Dutch over a century later. It is a monument protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
At Fort Kochi, the Vasco da Gama Square is seeing work worth ₹1.95 crore as part of a CSML project. Paving some roads in the area is also part of the project. “What should have been done was to mark out buildings of historical significance and put their stories out for people to see, not waste funds on tiling roads,” Mr. Sohan said.
The cobble-stoned Vasco da Gama Square was inaugurated only in 2001 and did not require much work, he pointed out. The cobble stones are now being displaced to erect lamp posts.
Since the area is a heritage zone, an attempt should be made to preserve the relics that are scattered around, like the weathercock leaning against a tree at the square, and make their history known, Mr. Sohan said.
He pointed to the histories of the scattered buildings in the area, an unobtrusive tombstone before a building on Princess Street and the Dutch architectural style that used buttresses, all aspects that are easy to miss with no visible markers pointing to their significance. “There are several layers of history here from the Portuguese, Dutch and the British days. Some buildings were built by the Portuguese, and the Dutch might have modified them. These layers are to be recorded, rather than covering the area with concrete,” he said.
“From a conservation point of view, it is not an improvement nor a deterioration. One wonders why this is done. When people have budgets, they want to spend them on things as irrelevant as this,” said Jose Dominic, a member of the local INTACH chapter. “With these projects, we realise what is done only after it is over. They should have consulted people and INTACH,” he added.
“We had alerted CSML about the matter but did not get any response,” said Babu Rajeev, former ASI Director General and convenor of the local INTACH chapter. Now that the work has already progressed, it could be beyond redemption.
Meanwhile, CSML sources said permission from the ASI was sought and received for the work at Mattancherry. An official associated with the ASI Thrissur circle refused to comment.