The Khalsa Mahal warning

Khalsa Mahal before and after the fire accident.

Why did Khalsa Mahal in Chepakkam collapse?

• Because of negligence and ignoring the stern warning issued by the Public Works Department (PWD) of Tamil Nadu. The chiefs of the departments functioning in this building failed to take seriously the stern warning from the PWD of Tamil Nadu that the 245-year-old building was not safe. They did not show the slightest interest.
• Failure to restructure the unsafe open wiring system in the buildings. While 90 per cent of the electrical circuits in the building were made of open wiring, as is the case in many such historical structures, those in charge of the departments located in Khalsa Mahal failed to rectify the unsafe wiring. They were not even bothered to carry out basic safety measures that were absolutely necessary.
• Failure to install the latest fire fighting equipment, including alarms. Even the older version of fire fighting – two buckets with sand and three buckets with water – was not maintained properly. There were no night watchmen as well. So pathetic is the situation of Government buildings these days.
• Non-appointment of staff meant specifically for upkeep and maintenance of Government buildings. During the 1960s and 70s, there used to be an Assistant Engineer, five masons/Technical Assistants for every ten buildings. But in 2010, the trend changed, with an Assistant Engineer and two Technical Assistants taking care of over 50 buildings! Are these people Atlas to support these buildings on their shoulders all the time?
• Non-allocation of sufficient funds required for the upkeep and maintenance of these heritage buildings. Successive governments and the Finance Department are inclined to spend thousands of crores of rupees on freebies but do not care to allot the required percentage of the budget towards buildings that are our legacy. In fact, funds provision for these valuable assets that have survived beyond 100 years must be 2-3 times more than customary mainten-ance allocation. It would be apt to illustrate here that Government grants 10/40/100 per cent additional pension to pensioners living beyond 80/90/100 years, respectively.
• Spending crores and crores of money a year on new buildings, but not on maintenance. Post-Independence, Central and every State Government have spent thousands of crores every year on constructing new buildings, but they don't allocate even Rs.10 crore or still even Rs.1 crore for the upkeep and maintenance of the country's fixed and immovable assets. The state of the government school buildings and taluk, municipal and panchayat offices is so wretched that it makes you cry. Yet our politicians are not at all concerned about them.
• Committee recommendations not taken seriously by successive Govern-ments. During the 1980s, V. Karthikeyan, IAS (RETD), was Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu Government and Advisor to the Governor of Tamil Nadu. He recommended in his report to the Indian Government that all the government buildings that are public properties must be preserved properly with a minimum 5 per cent fund allocation for the purpose. He also cautioned that expending to the extent of 200 per cent on maintenance would become inevitable in future. But none of the regimes at the helm of affairs of our country seemed to have taken him seriously.
• Laxity on the part of engineers entrusted with the job of maintenance of heritage buildings. The Chief Engineers of the Tamil Nadu PWD and the Executive Engineer directly responsible for the maintenance of such aged buildings do not pay special attention to their safety. They also fail to impress the government on the importance of the building and push for funds towards upkeep and maintenance.
• Not much responsibility by the bureaucrats. To be more specific, it is a pity that the Finance Secretary, the Secretary in charge of maintenance and, above all, the officials functioning from these historical structures do not realise that it is their duty to preserve these buildings. Worse is the thinking of these administrators that it is adequate for their rooms and homes to be perfect.

Many such points may be made as to the causes for the damage to heritage structures. Now, what are the tasks of engineers of the Tamil Nadu PWD? What should they do next?

It has become customary for other government officials, news journals, TV channels, and the general public to blame the PWD and its engineers immediately after every such incident, without properly understanding the issues. But the PWD engineers are unable to issue a statement explaining personnel shortage and the non-availability of funds for maintenance. Yet, they cannot shun their responsibility.

It is time for them to, atleast now, bring to the notice of the higher authorities and ministers the gravity of the incident and thus avoid any further damage to these buildings. They should simultaneously strive to get adequate funds and carry out proper maintenance of such buildings.

Government should also create a Heritage Building Protection Cell in the TNPWD: To maintain more-than-century-old historical structures, a permanent special cell should be created within the Building Branch of the Tamil Nadu PWD. The cell should specifically concentrate on such work by appointing experienced civil engineers with expertise, eminent archaeologists and technical assistants to help these executives. Non-commercial NGOs may also be engaged in this mission. The PWD Senior Engineers' Association of Tamil Nadu, with its 200-strong retired senior engineers from 30 districts of the State, has pledged its support to such an operation and is ready to offer honorary assistance to the cell's efforts.

The State Government should allocate adequate funds for restoring these heritage structures, procuring the required accessories and firefighting equipment. The government should also release performance-oriented task guidelines with regard to the functioning of this Special Cell.

The Protection Cell's immediate plan and related emergency action must be as follows:

• Safety measures to prevent short-circuits in the electrical wiring by rectifying open wiring systems, preferably converting them into concealed wiring systems.
• Removal of lumber and dumps of broken chairs and tables. The head of office of the occupying department has the authority to do this through survey report and auction.
• Appointment of an official by the head of the occupying department that uses the building to coordinate with the PWD with regard to the upkeep and maintenance of the building.
• Repairing weak and dampened areas of the building, including removal and destroying of plants and roots of trees.
• Setting up modern firefighting equipment and immediately train people to operate this equipment.

Long-term measures

• Strengthening and renovating the existing structures without the loss of its sheen, using modern technologies and construction chemicals.
• Training the personnel (engineers and technical staff) in adopting the technologies and modern construction chemicals.
• Relaxing the general transfer rules to facilitate engineers of the department working a minimum of 5/10 years at one place, to maintain continuity.

In such activities, seeking advice/consultation of experienced and efficient engineers and technocrats outside the Government departments and involving NGOs.

As for the restoration of damaged Khalsa Mahal?

According to information, the 3-member committee that surveyed the Khalsa Mahal has recommended strengthening and renovation of a part of the Mahal and demolition and reconstruction of the other part.

Khalsa Mahal carries load-bearing, strong brick walls, a Madras terrace roof with teakwood beams, and wide load-bearing foundations. The roof has collapsed and burnt teakwood beams have fallen down. In some places, brick walls are partly damaged.

But most of the walls and foundation have not been affected. Therefore, there is no need for demolition and reconstruction of this palace. Nowadays, many advanced technologies and technical expertise, apart from modern construction materials that strengthen the structure, are available. Senate Hall at the University of Madras, the DGP office opposite Gandhi statue on the Marina beach, Vivekanandar Illam and Ripon Building, from where Corporation of Chennai functions, have been refurbished and restored.

Khalsa Mahal can also be restored in a similar fashion to its original shape with the same sheen and strength. The 3 member committee does not seem to have taken into consideration the fact that the cost and time for such restoration are going to be considerably lower than completely new construction after demolition. There is no need to knock down the damaged load-bearing walls, which may be fortified. There are other modern construction materials and advanced techniques that will restore structure.

It is imperative that the Tamil Nadu Government does not approve demolition but orders restoration of heritage buildings such as Khalsa Mahal. – (Courtesy: Our Building and Construction)