(1) Every owner or occupier of any heritage building declared as such by the ULB shall maintain, preserve and conserve it and shall not change its use in contravention of the provisions of these rules or the regulations made there under for its maintenance, preservation or conservation.
Explanation |.- The word "maintain”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall include fencing covering, repairing, restoring or cleansing or doing of any act which may be necessary for the purpose of preserving or conserving, of or securing convenient access to, a heritage building.
Explanation ll. - “Owner” shall, notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in the Act include, for the purposes of this chapter -
(a) a joint owner of a heritage building vested with the power of management thereof on behalf of himself and any otherjoint owner, or successor in-title of any such joint owner, or
(b) a manager or trustee, vested with the power of management of a heritage building or successor- in-office of such manager or trustee.
(2) Where the ULB on the recommendation of the Heritage Conservation Committee and also the Mayor/Chairperson of the ULB is of the opinion that any building in the ULB should be preserved and conserved for historical architectural, environmental, cultural and ecological purpose, it may declare such building as a heritage building;
provided that during the period when any proposal for declaring any building as a heritage building under consideration of the Heritage Conservation Committee or the Mayor/Chairperson of the ULB, no owner of such building or no lessee or sub-lessee to whom such building has been leased out, shall transfer such building by way of sale, lease or mortgage without prior approval of the Mayor/Chairperson of the ULB.
(3) The Mayor/Chairperson of the ULB shall constitute a Committee to be called the Heritage Conservation Committee with the Mayor/Chairperson of the ULB as its Chairman and the ln-Charge of Public Works Section as its Convener.
(4) The committee shall have, in addition to the Chairman and the convener, seven other members as follows:- a) one shall be a nominee of the District Magistrate of the District;
b) one shall be a nominee of the Director of the Department of Archaeology, Govt. of Tripura/Govt. of India;
(c) one shall be an eminent Architect;
(d) one shall be an Artist;
(e) one shall be an Environmentalist;
(f) one shall be a Historian;
(g) one shall be the concerned Executive Engineer of the ULB/ Engineering wing of UDD
(5) The Committee may co-opt any person to be nominated by the concerned department of the State Government while dealing with any land or building under the management of the said department.
(6) The Committee shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the rules and the regulations made there under scrutinize every application or proposal for:
declaration of a building as a heritage building, and recommend to and also advise the Mayor/Chairperson in respect of preservation and conservation of such building.
(7) The committee shall meet as such periodical interval as may be determined by the Chairman.
(8) The Chairman shall, in case of emergency take such measures as may be Page 73 necessary for the preservation and conservation of a heritage building provided that such measures shall be required to be approved by the Heritage Conservation Committee at its meeting.
(9) The Heritage Conservation Committee shall have the power to function independent of the ULBs for the purpose of preservation, conservation and maintenance of heritage building in so far such power does not offend any other provision of the Act or the rules made there under relating to construction or use of building:
provided that for erection or re-erection in a heritage building and part thereof or for restoration of any heritage building to its old shape, design or beauty in the case of unlawful demolition, or for making any change of internal and external wall, structural pattern, floor, roof, interior or exterior architectural floor, facade or skyline or for any other change, of a heritage building the provisions of the Act and the rules made there under shall apply mutates mutandis.
(10) Subject to the other provisions of the Act the Mayor/Chairperson, may acquire, purchase or take on lease any heritage building for the purpose of preservation and conservation thereof ;
Provided that in the case of heritage building declared as such for the purpose of preservation and conservation as required under the Tripura Town and Country Planning Act, 1975, the approval of the concerned department of the State Government shall be taken.
(11) When the owner of any heritage building is not willing to preserve or conserve any heritage building, the Mayor/Chairperson may for the purpose of acquisition of such heritage building by agreement and on the recommendation of the Heritage Conservation Committee and with the approval of the ULB allow the transfer of right of development of such heritage building, which shall be heritable and transferable, to the owner of such heritage building in such manner, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed.
Explanation l. - “Development" shall have the same meaning as in the Tripura Town and Country Planning Act,1975.
Explanation ll.- "Right of development of a heritage building” shall mean the right of development, in the prescribed manner, of such potentials as may be available in respect of such heritage building on a plot of land different from the land and building comprising the heritage building but in the same ward of the ULB.
(12) Subject to such rules or regulations as may be made under these rules and any Act every person shall have the right to access to any heritage building acquired by the ULB.
(13) The ULB shall have the right to allow the transfer of right of development to the lessee of a heritage building where the unexpired period of the term of lease is for 90 years, and to take the heritage building on sub-lease by agreement, if there is provisions for such sub-lease in the deed executed between the owner and the lessee, provided that the question of payment of premium or rent in such case to the owner shall not, notwithstanding any agreement in this behalf arise, and if the owner as confirming party to the agreement waives the right to receive any further payment of such premium or rent.
(14) If the ULB considers that it is necessary to acquire any building declared as a heritage building for the purpose of preservation and conservation as required under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (4) of section 31 of the Tripura Town and Country Planning Act, 1975, by agreement or under the Land Acquisition Act 1984, permission of the concerned Department of the State Government shall be taken before such acquisition.
(15) If the owner of a heritage building enters into an agreement with the ULB to maintain, preserve and conserve such heritage building property at his own expenses the ULB may, in such case, exempt wholly or partly the owner of such heritage building Page 74 from payment of rates of taxes or fees for supply of water or any other charge in respect of such heritage building.
(16)(i) The Mayor/Chairperson may pending acquisition of a heritage building by the ULB under these rules or any Act and with the approval of the ULB propose to the owner of such heritage building to enter into an agreement with the ULB for a specified period for the maintenance of such heritage building;
(ii) the agreement as aforesaid may provide for all or any of the following matters:-
(a) maintenance of the heritage building by the owner or by any other person willing to maintain the said heritage building,
(b) custody of the heritage building and the duties of the person who may be employed to watch it;
(c the restriction on the owners right-
(1) to use the heritage building for any other purpose detrimental to its conservation.
(2) to chase any fee for entry into, or inspection of, the heritage building, and
(3) to build on or near the site of the heritage building.