Colonial-era structure razed for grade separator, conservationists question project

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) plans to begin the construction of a 1.7-km grade separator on Rani Jhansi Road near Old Delhi to tackle congestion in the area ahead of the Commonwealth Games has led conservationists to raise questions about the project’s blueprint. The construction, they claim, will disturb many heritage structures in the area.

The construction of the four-lane grade separator has already led to the demolition of the Bishop House, a colonial-era building located inside the Methodist Church complex built in the 1930s.

The work will also affect the facades of several other listed heritage buildings, including Queen Mary’s School and the chapel of the St Stephen’s Hospital — structures mentioned in the civic body’s own list of heritage monuments based on an earlier listing by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which is currently awaiting the state government’s notification.

Officials of INTACH said the MCD has not discussed the subject. “The matter has not come to us and we heard about it from other sources,” said Professor A G K Menon, Convener, Delhi Chapter of INTACH. “The MCD needs to respect its own heritage list even if it has not been notified yet. Besides, according to rules, they must discuss the project with the heritage committee.” The MCD officials said the heritage structures have no legal entity yet as the list has not been notified by the Delhi government.

“At the time of finalising the project blueprint, the MCD took into confidence all the parties involved. The Bishop’s House agreed and accepted the compensation,” said MCD spokesperson Deep Mathur.

The Corporation also argues that all those who have been shifted have been paid appropriate compensation. The occupants of the Bishop’s House were paid a hefty Rs 14 crore, said MCD officials.

Bishop S S Singh of the Delhi Episcopal Area, Methodist Church in India, said he had taken up the issue with the authorities a number of times, but to no avail.

“We finally submitted to their demand and vacated the premises when we were told that the MCD project was necessary for the larger public good,” Bishop Singh said.

Residents of bungalows -- numbers 12, 14, 16 (including Bishop’s House) and 12 quarters in the Methodist Mission compound at Boulevard Road — have already vacated the premises.

The Delhi Urban Art Commission said the proposal was cleared in October 1995, when these monuments were not listed as heritage structures. It was only after 2000 that INTACH came up with a heritage listing for the city.

The project was originally sanctioned in the early 1990s. The MCD, however, took over 10 years to begin work, citing the shift of the tyre market and other shops in the area as a reason for the delay. The Unified Traffic and Transport Infrastructure and Engineering Centre recently cleared the revived proposal and a private firm, Brahmaputra Infrastructure Ltd. will carry out the construction. The grade separator, from Filmistan Cinema to near St Stephen’s Hospital in Tis Hazari, will cater to around 50,000 vehicles daily. For the Rs 177-crore project, the MCD also had to cut around 570 trees in the area.

What is a grade separator

A grade separator is a structure which separates the uniform grade of a running highway into two different grades. It can either be a flyover or an underpass. Roads with grade separation allow traffic to move freely with fewer interruptions. Plus, it reduces the capacity for accidents.