On Wednesday, the century-old Krumbiegel Hall in Lalbagh was reduced to a rubble by the Horticulture Department without prior consultation with either conservationists or the public whose culture scape it belonged to.Even as politicians created a brouhaha over celebrating Tipu Sultan’s ‘jayanti’ earlier this month, the 18th-century ruler’s last-remaining armoury in Kalasipalyam continued to languish. In July, the heritage Murphy Town library was demolished to make way for the chief minister’s ambitious Indira Canteen project. In May, the city corporation planned to construct a multi-specialty medical centre by razing an old veterinary hospital and heritage trees on Queen’s Road. They would have gotten away with it if not for active citizen opposition. All this apart here is the most staggering statistic: Bengaluru had 823 heritage structures in 1985. Only 354 remain today.The absence of strong heritage laws to ensure that the government maintains protects and preserves old buildings of cultural importance was never so glaring. Lack of community sensitisation apart, the existing heritage-related legislation has wide loopholes in implementation and adequacy.“A city is characterised by its heritage. When we think of Paris, we remember the Eiffel Tower and London is known through the Big Ben. On the other hand, Singapore is sterile because they broke architectural links to the past and built everything new,” says urban planner Naresh Narasimhan. “If a place does not have continuity of heritage, future generations will have no pride or sense of ownership for their city.”Narasimhan’s Suvarna Valaya project, which intended to create a zone of special control for over 2,500 acres of land in the city centre and covered more than 60 heritage buildings, is still lying in cold storage. It was first presented to the government in 2015 and is still under consideration by the tourism ministry.Last year, when the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) submitted a list to declare over-100-year-old public buildings as protected, it was turned down by the government. “The list was given to BDA, BBMP and State Archaeology Department. The last responded with: ‘Noted. Not required right now,’ ” said INTACH co-convenor Meera Iyer.On the other hand, a Heritage Regulation Bill , conceptualised in 2002 and drafted in 2010, remains buried with the Urban Development Department. Mahendra Jain, additional chief secretary, Urban Development Department, told ET that a new committee comprising of government officials, conservationists and historians under the chairmanship of the chief secretary was formed a few months ago to take work on the Bill forward. “The committee will study existing provisions and come up with new guidelines, but we cannot predict how long this will take.” Multiple sources close to this development said that the committee has not even met once as the government is not taking work forward.According to advocate Siddharth Raja, India has laws galore but they cannot exist in a vacuum without enforcement and political will. He points out that heritage is a subject matter that is split between the Centre and the State. “This multiplicity of governing bodies has a direct impact on preservation as it gives officials an opportunity to pass the buck instead of coordinating to create a support system,” he says. Raja, also the founder of heritage walks organisation Nandi Valley Walks, explains with an example closer to home.For instance, if one has to protect the century-old Nandi Halt Station, the State Archeology Department has to align with the Central Railway Ministry, which might never reach a conclusion due to other vested interests. “Having said that, we have worked our system in a way that officials and ministers have zero accountability. They can keep passing the files from one department to another until the buck stops at the minister’s door,” Raja says.INTACH’s Iyer says that buildings can be given some protection if Bengaluru’s Revised Master Plan 2031 incorporates a focus on heritage. “Last year, Mysuru’s Revised Master Plan 2031 included a section on ancient monuments, heritage structures and natural features of scenic beauty that have visual value,” she said, calling for the revival of the Bangalore Urban Arts Commission. The body had kept a hawk-eye on heritage buildings and had a say on ‘development projects’. It wound up in 2002 due to vested interests.Raja added a rider here. He cautioned that a Commission without statutory powers will be a toothless tiger.“What we need in Bengaluru is a heritage precinct which can be created under the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961. A creature of statute comprising of government officials, experts and concerned citizens will have the power to look into development projects, haul up incompetent officials and be a single-window clearance point for proposals,” he said, explaining that statutory powers would also empower citizens to file PILs and approach the judiciary in case the Commission itself becomes corrupt.Tourism minister Priyank Kharge’s solution is to monetise the structures. “Heritage in India is only valued in three conditions — if it is of cultural or religious significance, or if it is economically viable. If we flaunt these structures as tourist sites, monetise it or put it to adaptive reuse, it will also turn into an effort in conservation. I am trying to collaborate with the ASI and State Archaeology Department to achieve this,” he said.A government official, on the condition of anonymity, said that a major challenge is that different departments govern little chunks of the same heritage site (In Cubbon Park, the Horticulture Department maintains the park while Bal Bhavan is controlled by the Women and Child Welfare Department and the government aquarium is maintained by the Department of Fisheries). “Getting everyone on the same page for holistic preservation is highly difficult,” the official said.A ray of hope is the rising level of public awareness, though there is still a long way to go. “A growing number of community activities are organised by tours and walk organisations, institutions like INTACH and the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. There is also public pressure when the government threatens to destroy heritage,” says former chief secretary and retired IAS officer A Ravindra. “However, we can take meaningful strides in public sensitisation only when heritage laws are in place. Policy is always the first step.”