The first building to be rebuilt with the approval of the Heritage Conservation Committee on a heritage premises in Chennai will be inaugurated on Monday. After having rejected the proposal for an eight-storied building on the premises with two more heritage buildings, the committee of the Chennai Metropolitan Area had restricted the new building of Christian Literature Society (CLS) to ground-plus-two storey to preserve the heritage value of the premises.
The other two buildings on the premises are the Memorial Hall and Bible Society.
“The new CLS building has been dwarfed to ensure the magnificence of the Memorial Hall, as per the recommendation of the Heritage Conservation Committee. The building was demolished as it was dilapidated. The height of the CLS building is equal to Bible Society building that is located on the eastern side of Memorial Hall ,” said CLS General Secretary Rev. Lawrence Jebadoss.
“The ministry of CLS is the publication of Christian literature. On the day of inauguration, four publications will be launched,” he added.
“After rejecting the proposal for construction of a multi-storied building on the heritage premises, we did advocacy planning for saving the heritage value of the premises. As a centre of publication for over 15 decades, the building had historical and architectural value,” said a senior official.
While approving, the Committee also recommended suitable architecture for the new building.
According to an official of the CMDA, the heritage building adjacent to the Memorial Hall was demolished in 2009 after seeking permission from the Chennai Corporation.
The owner of the building is the CSI Bishop of Madras, Rt. Rev. Devasahayam. The Bishop is also president of CLS. The 150th year of the building was commemorated in 2008. The CMDA had also directed that the architecture of the new building should not be an eyesore to the heritage premises.
