Preserving heritage: KMC begins scientific grading of about 305 heritage buildings

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has initiated the process of scientifically grading the city’s heritage buildings that have not yet been assessed.

The gradation is being done on the basis of assessment of the architectural, historical and environmental aspects of a particular building.

KMC has constituted a committee comprising experts from the architecture department of the IIEST, Shibpur, for carrying out this exercise.

At present, 1,392 heritage buildings in the city have been graded. Of them, 717 are in grade I, 216 in grade IIA and 119 in grade IIB. Blue plaques have been installed on several heritage buildings.

“There are around 305-odd heritage buildings that are yet to be graded. The expert team has started the exercise of grading these buildings following the scientific method,” said Swapan Samaddar, Member Mayor in Council (Environment and Heritage), KMC.

A KMC official said no scientific method had been followed in grading the city’s heritage buildings, resulting in many deserving structures being left unlisted. Conversely, some residents question why their homes have been declared heritage. “In due course, we will undertake a scientific gradation of all heritage buildings,” the official added.

“It should be our commitment to preserve heritage; otherwise, the identity of the city will be at stake,” said Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim.

According to sources, the KMC has examined building gradation methods used in countries such as China, Italy, and Belgium, as well as in several other Indian states, to develop a scientific framework for grading heritage structures.

The method, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), has received the nod from the Member, Mayor-in-Council, the KMC’s highest decision-making body, for implementation.