Mysuru: “Though we have a provision to take action against those who violate the rules under the Planning and Municipal Act, by restoring heritage buildings, we have decided not to do so against the railway authorities for taking up the extension work of the Mysuru Railway Station which is one among hundred identified heritage buildings by the state government. Instead we are here to a send a strong message that henceforth such violations will not be tolerated and stringent action will be initiated against wrongdoers,” said Tourism Minister S R Mahesh.
Mahesh who inspected Mysuru Railway Station a few minutes after Member of Parliament Pratap Simha’s visit, said, “Mysuru Railway Station is a heritage building. Member of Parliament Pratap Simha should know that permission should be taken from the Deputy Commissioner and the Heritage Committee to restore any heritage building. Even after taking permission, the building can only be restored and not extended. But the railway authorities have violated the norm by taking up the extension work. I have come here to ensure that henceforth such violations are not made by the railway authorities and also want to convey a message to people that the development of heritage buildings cannot be undertaken according to their wish. While undertaking repair work of heritage buildings, they also cannot use normal materials. There are exclusive construction materials for such purposes.”
Stating that he is not against any developmental work but against people who are spoiling heritage buildings, S R Mahesh also said that he would bring the matter to the notice of the chief minister and hold a meeting with the Chief Secretary.
When asked about the possibilities of reshuffle in the cabinet, he said, “We want to see HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister for five years and for that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even our minister posts. We also want to see our CM’s dream of implementing various programmes for the welfare of farmers and poor people”.
Speaking on the Cauvery water issue, Mahesh said, “The newly elected parliamentarians from state should raise their voice against the release of water to Tamil Nadu. When the entire state including Dharmasthala is facing acute shortage of water there is no sense in releasing water to Tamil Nadu”.
Speaking after inspecting the renovation work at the Mysuru Railway Station, Pratap Simha said, “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, apart from the bullet train concept, he also came out with the redevelopment of 65 old railway stations across the country which also includes the Mysuru Railway Station. PM Modi also set a target to replace all unmanned level crossing across the country with manned or ROB (Road Over Bridge) or RUB (Road Under Bridge). PM Modi, apart from giving approval for satellite station which will be coming up at the Naganahalli Railway Station at a cost of Rs 799 Crore also sanctioned Rs 16.5 Crore for the redevelopment of Mysuru Railway Station which includes repairing of the leaking roofs, extension of parking area and widening the entrance. All these works are being undertaken without violating any heritage rules. People should cooperate in the developmental works instead of creating problem. In one or two months, the redevelopment work will be completed. We are working under the central government domain under Modi and no one should hinder this work”.
