Heritage chair appears to be from varsity, PU tell UT

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 10

In a major development, Panjab University has conveyed to the Chandigarh Administration that one of the chairs belonging to the export consignment kept at the Delhi Customs Zone’s storehouse at Tuglakabad prime facie seems to be the same kept at the university.

The Administration will now convey it to officials of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Sources said the Administration had sought a reply from Panjab University after the officials of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs asked it whether the furniture consignment held back in Delhi was Corbusier’s designer creations for Chandigarh.

The consignment was meant for export to Belgium.

The sources said while replying to the query, Panjab University has ordered an inquiry into the matter and sought details of the heritage chairs from different departments.

A senior official of the university said if it was established that the chair kept at the Customs Zone’s storehouse in Delhi was from the university, then a police complaint will be filed.

Meanwhile, the Administration will send the reply to the officials of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs by Wednesday.

An official of the Administration has said that this was the first time that any heritage furniture was withheld before going to abroad. The central Customs has withheld an export consignment that resembles the furniture the Swiss-French architect created for the City Beautiful.

A cache of 14 designer chairs are lying in Delhi Customs Zone’s storehouse at Tuglakabad. A majority of the chairs marked PUL (Panjab University Library).

Auction of heritage furniture has become a routine and the authorities have failed to check it so far. Recently, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu’s office had sought a report from the PU Chancellor over the sale of heritage furniture on the complaint of Ajay Jagga who has been raising the issue since long.