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| A circuit House in Amritsar, Punjab .tribuneindia.com |
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An old circuit House with a modern one, Amritsar, Punjab
.tribuneindia.com |
Above image:
British Era Circuit House: Constructed in 1863 near the post office building close to the railway station (built in 1859), Amritsar, the old heritage structure of the original Circuit House has eight rooms and it is well maintained old structure. Bottom image: A modern circuit was built several years ago with 4 star luxury facility with well-appointed 70 rooms, of these 15 rooms and two suits are reserved for the govt. officials. Set in the midst of a prime land covering 3,93 acres, the cost of the new structure was around Rs.23 crore and this complex came up close to the old CH without disturbing its heritage.
...........................The concept of Circuit House (CH) meaning a rest house or a set of guest houses has been in vogue in India for several decades. Not only does the government have a guest house to provide free accomodation to their employees but also big companies or organizations have a circuit houses in- select areas exclusively meant for people in their employ. Almost every state and a city has a circuit house. In the case of government circuit house the government employ can stay alone or with his family members, but prior booking is a must and there is guest demand for the circuit houses on the weekends.
Way past the houses were used as makeshift Revenue Courts (and arrange for the stay of the members) during the "Circuit Tours" of the Board of Revenue, which is the highest Revenue Court in the State. In the past, the Board used to hold Circuit Courts, so that the appeals / cases of the level of the Board could be heard and disposed off at the Divisional HQ, rather than forcing both parties to travel to the principal seat of the Board, district capital, etc.,
The circuit houses owe their origin to the colonial time. it was under the British rule During circuit houses were established as temporary lodge for the visiting government officials on official duty. As for private visitors, a nominal fee would be collected from them provided the accommodation was available. The circuit houses were quite useful to the civil and mechanical engineers who were on the move while on government -sponsored project. Invariably, Executive engineers or his nominated officer had the power to maintain the house and administer it in accordance with government rules.
In many states PWD is entrusted with the administration and maintenance of the circuit houses in the state and it does not come under the District administration. Part of the reason was when the DA (District Administration) was in charge of the circuit house, many political leaders of the ruling elite including ministers and MPs not only used the CHs and the facilities there without paying the minimum charges for their comfortable stay, but also also used the bureaucrats to provide them extra facilities. The high officials were at the beck and call of narrow minded netas.
Under the administration of PWD government circuit houses don't allow political leaders and others if they have residences nearby to stay here and further they are not allowed to use the CHs as a venue for political meeting.
