Heritage structures in Chennai

Chennai, with historically rich records dating at least from the time of the Pallavas, houses 2,467 heritage buildings within its metropolitan area (CMA), the highest within any metropolitan area limit in India.[1] Most of these buildings are around 200 years old and older.[2] Chennai is home to the second largest collection of heritage buildings in the country, after Kolkata.[3] The official list of heritage buildings was compiled by the Justice E. Padmanabhan committee.[4] The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the Heritage Commission Act in 2012 to preserve old heritage structures.[5]

The structures will be categorised into three grades, namely, Grades I, II, and III. Grade I structures will be prime landmarks upon which no alterations will be permitted. Under Grade II, external changes on structures will be subject to scrutiny. Buildings under Grade III may be changed for 'adaptive reuse' with suitable internal and external changes.[6]

  1. ^ Mariappan, Julie (10 July 2012). "Long history of service". The Times of India. Chennai. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  2. ^ Heritage building gets a breather
  3. ^ Ravishankar, Sandhya (6 September 2007). "No fire safety norms at Chennai heritage buildings". IBN Live. Chennai: CNN IBN. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  4. ^ Ravi, Bhama Devi (18 April 2012). "Tamil Nadu's shameful disregard for heritage buildings". Sify News. Chennai. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  5. ^ Sharma, Reetu (23 August 2014). "Chennai turns 375: Things you should know about 'Gateway to South India'". One India. Chennai. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hindu_42GovtBldgAmong70HeritageStatus was invoked but never defined (see the help page).