Mysuru MP welcomes SC directive on preservation of Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building

MP for Mysuru Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has welcomed the Supreme Court’s recent directive to IIT Roorkee to evaluate if Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building in Mysuru can be preserved as heritage structures.

”I welcome the Supreme Court’s directive asking IIT Roorkee to study the preservation of Mysuru’s treasured Devaraja Market and Lansdowne Building. This is a vital step towards protecting our city’s living heritage,” Mr. Yaduveer said on his Instagram account.

Mr. Yaduveer, who is also the scion of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru, was referring to the Supreme Court’s directive earlier this month to the Director of IIT Roorkee to “constitute an expert committee for the purpose of evaluating the two buildings in question, their current status, and to what extent the two buildings can be preserved as heritage structures.”

The Supreme Court also directed the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to deposit an amount of ₹5 lakh to IIT Roorkee, as expenses that the expert committee may incur for the purpose of undertaking the inspection/survey of the structures and preparation of an appropriate report.

The Supreme Court had also said that the exercise by IIT Roorkee should be undertaken at the earliest and a report should be filed in a sealed cover within a period of eight weeks from the date of its directive on September 2.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta, while hearing a plea filed by G. Satyanarayana alias Gouri Satya and others, took note of a report by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) that the “structures can be preserved and some repair/retrofitting is required to be undertaken.”

The Lansdowne Building in Mysuru.
| Photo Credit:
M.A. SRIRAM

However, senior counsel for State of Karnataka Devadatt Kamat said that the State had taken a conscious decision to bring down the structures and rebuild them with the same facade and heritage look. As the structures were within the State, the government would have the primacy and discretion in these type of matters, Mr. Kamath argued.

The Supreme Court, however, observed that “Prima facie, we are of the view, more particularly, having regard to the report of INTACH referred to above, that if it is possible to preserve these two structures as they are with some repairs/renovations, then nothing like that. Although there is one report of INTACH as an expert body, yet we would still like to call for one another report from IIT Roorkee”.

While welcoming the Supreme Court directive, Mr. Yaduveer pointed out that “these structures are not just buildings — they are symbols of Mysuru’s history and culture, holding memories for generations of citizens. I sincerely hope they will now be restored and preserved with care, so that future generations, too, can cherish their legacy,” he said.

The Apex court’s ruling was also welcomed by the traders of the Devaraja Market. “We hope that the Supreme Court ruling helps preserve the heritage buildings,” said S. Mahadev, president of Devaraja Market Traders’ Association.