UT dossier had no record of shops on HC premises

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 21

For the past 20 years, the UT Administration has carried out additions and alterations at the Punjab and Haryana High Court complex 17 times. In the dossier submitted to UNSECO in 2016 for the world heritage status of the Capitol Complex, the Administration had also listed the details of the additions and alterations carried out to meet the requirements of the High Court.

Sources said while the list mentions the details of the constructions carried out on the premises, it had no mention of shops constructed over the years. The parking opposite the museum also found no mention in the dossier, the sources added.

The alterations carried out included flooring of corridors from the judges’ library to court room number 42 in 2005. The waterproofing of the water bodies was done in 2005. The museum was set up in the existing record room Block 1 in 2005. The flooring of the hall near gate number 2 was revamped using Kota Stone. A facilitation centre was provided near gate number 2 in 2005.

An escalator was provided in the hall near gate number 2 from basement to ground floor in the year 2005.

Vitrified tiles were laid in all court rooms during 2008 and 2009. Flooring of judges’ chambers was changed from conglomerate/terrazzo flooring to wooden laminated flooring in 2008-09.

False ceiling has been provided in all court rooms and judges’ chambers.

The other changes include flooring of the second block of judicial record building in 2012 and Kota Stone flooring of public corridors at basement and ground floor of the extension wing in 2013.

Besides, additions and alteration adjacent to the High Court building in the Western Buffer Complex were carried out 16 times. Lawyers’ chambers, Bar room, record building, multi-level parking, new court rooms, auditorium and Judges’ library were constructed in the last 40 years in the western buffer.