Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
India

Now a Heritage Scam in Chandigarh?

Jaideep Sarin Darpan, 30 May, 2014 11:34 AM
  • Now a Heritage Scam in Chandigarh?
An iron manhole cover bearing the master plan of Chandigarh by its founder-architect Le Corbusier was sold as "junk" for a paltry Rs.100 ($1.70) by the authorities here. It fetched a whopping $21,000 (Rs.830,000) at a Christie's auction in New York in 2007.
 
With hundreds of "junked" heritage items from Chandigarh being disposed of by government departments finding their way to international auctions in New York, London, Chicago, Paris and other places, the taint of a scam is now brewing here.
 
With leading auction houses making millions via Chandigarh's heritage in recent years, city-based lawyer Ajay Jagga has written to the union ministry of culture to get the entire "scam" probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
 
"The sale of heritage items by way of junk is actually an Indian Heritage Scam and the modus operandi is similar to that of 2G scam. If the administration considered it as junk then they should have sold these items by way of a global or international auction to foreign auction houses. They would have earned crores (of rupees) for the Chandigarh Administration," Jagga stated in his communication to the ministry.
 
Most of the city's heritage, personally designed by French architect Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret in the 1950s and 1960s when the city was being built, is said to have been disposed of as "junk" by government departments and institutions like Panjab University here.
 
 
"The heritage items were smuggled and shipped out from the country and found their way to auction houses in the US, Britain and Europe. Much of this heritage was dumped and taken out in the 1980s and 1990s. I don't think it could have happened without the connivance of officers at various levels," a retired senior officer of the Chandigarh Administration told IANS here.
 
Paris-based auction house Artcurial has sold several heritage items from Chandigarh in recent years. It auctioned 14 items earlier this month.
 
Chicago-based Wright has planned another auction of Chandigarh's items June 12. The auction house, which has sold over 200 items from Chandigarh in the past two years and earned over Rs 10 crore, is all set to auction two lounge chairs, armchairs and dining tables. The reserve price is up to Rs 35 lakh.
 
"The action of those who have sold these heritage items as junk has caused wrongful loss to the government by criminal conduct and hence it is necessary that the matter be probed by an agency like CBI to unearth the scandal in this regard and register FIRs against the guilty officials," Jagga demanded.
 
 
He pointed out that Chandigarh's urban planning secretary wrote to Artcurial in February 2010 on the auction of Corbusier's sketches of Chandigarh. "But what happened later is not known," Jagga noted.
 
To cover up for the lost heritage, the administration wrote to all government departments in Chandigarh to prepare an inventory of heritage items with them. Even this was not seriously followed up.

MORE India ARTICLES

AAP in Trouble: Arvind Kejriwal Arrested! AAP Workers Clash With Cops

AAP in Trouble: Arvind Kejriwal Arrested! AAP Workers Clash With Cops
 AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was Wednesday sent to judicial custody in a defamation case filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, hours after he apologised for resigning as Delhi's chief minister in February.

AAP in Trouble: Arvind Kejriwal Arrested! AAP Workers Clash With Cops

Arvind Kejriwal apologises for quitting as Delhi CM, seeks fresh election

Arvind Kejriwal apologises for quitting as Delhi CM, seeks fresh election
Since the Lok Sabha elections have ended, I have been roaming around in Delhi where people have come up to me and said that we have already made a mistake, and that we should not repeat it

Arvind Kejriwal apologises for quitting as Delhi CM, seeks fresh election

PMO changes Twitter handle, BJP terms it 'unethical, ungraceful'

PMO changes Twitter handle, BJP terms it 'unethical, ungraceful'
The Prime Minister's Office Tuesday changed the Twitter handle of the PMO - two days before BJP leader Narendra Modi takes oath as the next prime minister, provoking the BJP to term it an "ungraceful and unethical" move by the outgoing establishment.

PMO changes Twitter handle, BJP terms it 'unethical, ungraceful'

Narendra Modi to take oath as India's 14th PM Monday

Narendra Modi to take oath as India's 14th PM Monday
President Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday formally appointed Narendra Modi as the next prime minister of India after the latter met him, along with senior leaders of his party and the National Democratic Alliance, and staked claim to forming a government.

Narendra Modi to take oath as India's 14th PM Monday

US hopes partnership with India will grow under Modi

US hopes partnership with India will grow under Modi
Calling India a "very important strategic partner", the US hopes that its "enduring partnership" with India will only grow under the new government led by Narendra Modi despite the flap over his visa.

US hopes partnership with India will grow under Modi

Modi elected BJP parliamentary party leader

Modi elected BJP parliamentary party leader
Narendra Modi was Tuesday elected BJP parliamentary party leader, paving the way for the Gujarat chief minister to become India's prime minister.

Modi elected BJP parliamentary party leader