The DGP office near Marina beach would have been razed around 20 years ago but for the efforts of a group of heritage lovers. The police department wanted to demolish the building and erect a modern skyscraper that would house all its offices. The local chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) filed a case against the demolition in the Madras high court, which ruled in favour of its preservation.

The judgment is widely hailed as a landmark in the heritage preservation movement in India. It is one of the earliest instances, in the entire country, when a voluntary agency successfully fought a legal battle against a government department for the cause of heritage.

The case inspired voluntary groups in other cities to fight for local historic structures. In recent years, Intach has approached the courts to save Chennai’s other historic landmarks such as Bharat Insurance Building on Anna Salai.

Although India is rich in historic buildings, there are hardly any laws to preserve them. The archaeology department protects a limited number of structures. It is in this scenario that the role of volunteers in heritage conservation becomes crucial.

For centuries, the task of conserving historic sites and monuments was the prerogative of the government. In the nineteenth century, people around the world realized the need for voluntary organizations for heritage preservation. These organizations, called National Trusts, were intended to supplement the role of the state and also question government action (or inaction!) in the field. Intach is India’s National Trust, started in 1984 and modeled on the English National Trust.

Throughout the world, National Trusts have been fighting court cases to save historic properties. Since 1970, the American National Trust has been involved in over 130 court cases including the most well-known Penn Central Transportation Co vs City of New York, 1978. In this case, the US Supreme Court prevented the erection of a 55-storey office tower atop New York’s Grand Central Rail Station.

Voluntary efforts need not always be channeled through the courts. Appeals and non-violent agitations can sometimes have the same effect. Right on Marina, Queen Mary’s College, next to the DGP Office, was slated to be demolished in 2003 for building a new state secretariat. But protests by citizens compelled the government to give up the plan. In 2012, the highways department, acting on appeal from Intach, changed the alignment of a proposed road near Villupuram to save a 1,000-year-old temple.

There’s a lot that people can do to stand up for heritage and it starts with just wanting to keep history alive.

(The writer is Tamil Nadu convener, Intach. As a Fulbright scholar, he earlier worked in American National Trust in Washington DC)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / June 06th, 2014