Kolkata Tram System is a heritage, so preserve it: Calcutta HC to Bengal government
The Calcutta High Court has directed the Bengal government to make every effort to preserve the tram system as it is heritage, and has restrained the government from auctioning tram depots and tram sheds.
A two-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, headed by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, on June 21 directed the Bengal government to form a committee to examine how the iconic Kolkata tram services can be preserved, as per a report on the law news website, LiveLaw.
“[B]eing a welfare State (it) must preserve heritage for not only present enjoyment … but to preserve the same for posterity,” the court noted.
“The people of Calcutta are very passionate about trams … if you want to pursue, the State can definitely do it … for expenditure purposes if the entire stretch cannot be covered then at least the major routes,” the bench added.
The court also passed an order restraining the government from auctioning tram depots and tram sheds.
The directive came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) pleading for the preservation of the remaining stretches of tramways. It contended that the state government had dismantled and sold off several portions of the tramways system despite it being a heritage property.
