A portion of the old Assembly building, which houses the Assembly of Andhra Pradesh State, has been dug up in the last five days to give a facelift ahead of its winter session from December 18. The work invited criticism from conservation activists on the ground that it was a heritage structure though not notified.
The Assembly authorities said a four-foot wooden elevation next to the chambers of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was razed to the ground to level the surface. There was no intervention either with the pillars or walls. However, huge boulders, dust, sand and gravel greeted visitors at the site of the work. Assembly authorities said the elevation was brought down because the Chief Minister’s office was at a lower level while other adjacent wooden cabins were on a higher plane. An area over 1,500 sq ft was dug up to level the surface and construct rooms for the secretariat and personal staff of Mr. Naidu. Incidentally, a pathway was also created through the area for Ministers and MLAs to enter the Assembly hall. There were no changes to the chamber of Mr. Naidu.
Architectural valueThe construction activity came to light after convenor of INTACH Hyderabad, P. Anuradha Reddy, visited the Assembly on a tip-off. Admitting that the building, which is the edifice of the Assembly, was not a notified heritage structure, she said it was recognised for its architectural and historical value. It could not be handled as a concrete structure. Any modifications should be done with an assessment by conservation architects and workers experienced in handling heritage buildings. The building was completed as a “town hall” in 1913 with contributions from the general public as a gift on the occasion of the 40 birthday of the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, in 1905.
