In view of the increasing needs of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the UT administration has submitted a revised proposal to the High Court’s Hallistic Development Plan to UNESCO in Geneva, Switzerland.
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The proposal includes 16 new courts and arrangements for lawyers’ chambers, parking, cafeteria and administrative blocks.
According to officials, the UNESCO team has responded positively to this proposal and now the minutes of meetings of the meeting are waiting for the release of the meeting within 20 days.
Top officials including Chief Secretary reached Geneva The meeting held in Geneva attended Chief Secretary Rajiv Verma, Chief Architect Rajiv Kumar Mehta and Senior Architect Sangeeta Bagga on behalf of UT administration. Officials said that the construction circle of the High Court Development Scheme has now been reduced to only 2 lakh sq ft.
All construction works will be done within the existing High Court campus, but heritage will be done by distance from buildings. Given the lack of space, there are plans to build multi -storey buildings.
The proposal also states that about 10 thousand lawyers, 3300 employees, thousands of petitioners and about 10,000 vehicles come in the High Court, so it has become very important to have additional facilities in the campus.
Ikomos objected earlier It is worth noting that earlier UNESCO and its organization International Council on Monuments and Sites (Iceos) objected to the old plan. He said that this scheme could damage the World Heritage Identification (OUV) of Capital Complex. For this reason, schemes like underground parking and AC chiller plant were stopped.
The court also sought an answer from the administration Last month, the High Court, while hearing the PIL of Vinod Dhatarwal, Secretary, Association of Employees, had asked the administration whether this new development scheme has been approved by both UT administration and heritage committee, especially when the number of courtrooms has been reduced.
Earlier, the administration also conducted a heritage impact assessment (HIA). It was clearly stated in the 2023 Iceomos review that it is necessary to preserve the green belt and open places on the back side of the High Court. However, it was also believed in the review that a plan to expand is necessary in view of the existing and future needs.
