Heritage : P Orr & Sons building set to lose another chunk

CHENNAI: The landmark P. Orr and Sons building on Anna Salai lost a part of it to the city's metro rail project more than two years back. Now, the heritage building is set to lose another portion because it has "become weak". Upholding a Chennai corporation decision to raze the rear portion of the building, the Madras high court on Thursday said: "The inconvenience of losing a small portion of the building is insignificant, when compared to the peril to which many people may be exposed, in the event of a disaster."

According to heritage experts the building constructed in 1878 is a load-bearing brick masonry structure with a Madras terrace. While the civic body says only the front portion of the building measuring around 4000 sqft was a heritage structure, conservationists claim the entire precinct, including the workshops in the rear, was of historical importance and couldn't be split into various buildings.




After the state government acquired a portion of the land on which the building is located for metro rail in November 2011, Intach approached the high court seeking to forbid the authorities from demolishing or modifying the structure, but the court held that the portion acquired for the project was not a heritage structure. That portion was demolished in April 2012 to make way for an underground metro station.

On April 1, 2013, the Chennai corporation issued a notice for demolition of another portion of the building on the grounds that it was unsafe. P.Orr & Sons, which runs a watch showroom in the building, moved the high court saying the building's owner, Associated Publishers, was trying to evict them. It said Associated Publishers had initiated rent control proceedings against it in 1986 saying the building was dilapidated and required demolition.



In its counter, Associated Publishers said it would not benefit by supporting the civic body's action. After failing in the eviction proceedings, it did not take any steps to start a fresh battle, it said. Citing an IIT-Madras report which said the building was in a precarious condition, Associated Publishers said it was the owner who would be held responsible in case of an accident.

The civic body in its affidavit said the rear portion of the structure was not a part of the heritage building. It had been constructed with bricks, lime mortar and sand and was now in a dilapidated condition. The metro rail work using heavy machinery exposed the building to heavy vibration and threatened its load bearing capacity, the corporation said.

Rejecting P Orr & Sons' petition, Justice V Ramasubramanian said the court had appointed a three-member committee comprising civil engineer Mohan Ramanathan, former PWD chief engineer R Nadimuthu and advocate commissioner V Parthibhan in June to inspect the building and submit a report. While Ramanathan and Partibhan opined that the structure was unsafe, Nadimuthu differed with them. But, the judge pointed out, the former chief engineer's report had failed to consider the impact of metro rail work on the building. In fact, he had said the assessment has to be reviewed after CMRL started its work, the judge said.

According to members of the P Orr and Sons management, the property dispute with the building's owners has been going on for decades ever since the 99-year-lease ended.

TNN | Nov 14, 2014, 04.38 AM IST