5 heritage items of Chandigarh sold for Rs 1.3 crore in France
Chandigarh, February 25
Five heritage items from the UT, which were taken abroad in an illegal manner, were auctioned for Rs 1.38 crore in France on Thursday.
A set of eight “office chairs” fetched the highest bidding of Rs 85.57 lakh.
The artefacts, which were designed by French architect Pierre Jeanneret, included a library table, a coffee table, a sewing stool, a file rack and a set of eight office chairs.
In a letter to the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha, Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Items Protection Cell of the Chandigarh Administration, has stated that it was an additional submission in respect of his plea for protection of national heritage (Chandigarh heritage articles) from being auctioned abroad. Five more heritage articles of Chandigarh were auctioned in France by Piasa on February 23.
It was learnt that on February 22, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar, Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi inaugurated an exhibition titled “Return of Costume Treasures on Protection and Restoration of Cultural Property” at Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Hall at Khajuraho in Chhatarpur district of the state.
It is noteworthy that from 2014 to 2022, the Centre has brought back 229 items and returned rare items related to heritage. A few of the selected items were displayed at the exhibition.
Therefore, in view of Article 49 of the Constitution, the onus lies on the country of origin and in this case it is India, which needs to take care of this issue for its heritage protection, by providing appropriate law/regulations/prohibitions, said Jagga in the letter.
