Consultant finalised for work on phase 2 of Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, will restore facades in heritage market

Under the second phase, all buildings on the 1.4-km Chandni Chowk stretch will get facelifted facades

The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) has finalised a consultant for carrying out restoration of facade of the buildings in Chandni Chowk in the second phase of the heritage market’s redevelopment project.

Work on restoring the facades in the heritage market will begin soon, said officials. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Under the second phase, all buildings on the 1.4-km Chandni Chowk stretch will get a facade uplift.

A senior PWD official, who asked not to be named, said the consultant for façade restoration was selected last week. “The consultant was finalised last Friday. They will look after the façade restoration and other projects,” the official said.

Officials from Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), the nodal agency for the redevelopment project, said work on façade restoration will be initiated soon. Garima Gupta, managing director, SRDC, said façade restoration will be done keeping in mind the diverse architectural and heritage value of buildings in Shahjahanabad. Gupta added that the agency will brainstorm on ideas that can be adopted for the area. “A uniform façade may not go with the heritage character of Shahjahanabad. We will come up with ideas and adopt the best possible practices for the preservation of the area’s heritage,” said Gupta.

She said that work on façade restoration will start immediately after the appointment of the consultant. “If the consultant appointment has been done, we intend to start immediately,” she said.

Annabel Lopez, project consultant, INTACH Delhi, said any exercise entailing façade restoration at Chandni Chowk should be focused on preserving the unique character of the place. “Each building in the area is unique in architectural style. Each building has to be conserved but its identity has to be retained. There are a number of notified heritage buildings in the area. Standardisation of façade should not be done the way it has been done in Amritsar where original identity and architecture of the buildings was completely lost,” said Lopez.

Sanjay Bhargava, president Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, said that it was important to curb illegal construction activity in the area before proceeding for façade restoration. “All unauthorised construction in the area should be stopped on the main road since people are spiling the façade. Everything should be restored as per the original ethos,” said Bhargava.