The 150-year-old baradari of Maharaja Ranjit Singh situated in the SGPC complex here was allegedly demolished by the committee to make space for an administrative block the foundation stone of which was laid by its president yesterday.

Expressing shock over the demolition of the heritage building, Dr Sukhdev Singh, convener, Punjab Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), told The Tribune here today that the committee should have maintained the building at all cost.

Another expert, Prof Balwinder Singh of Guru Ram Dass School of Architecture, affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, said it was a wrong step on the part of the SGPC to demolish the heritage building.

The 2500-sq ft Baradari finds mention on page 67 in the book, “Tawarikh Amritsar”, published by the Dharam Prachar Committee. According to the book, the baradari was constructed during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The building was made of Nanakshahi bricks and there were four rooms on its each corner besides a big hall in the middle.

Red stones were used around the complex and many fountains were also set up to beautify the place. The King used the complex to change his monarchial dress before paying obeisance at the Golden Temple during his visit to the holy city.

The president of the SGPC said the building was in a poor shape. The committee had sought views of the experts who opined that it could not be repaired.

Meanwhile, Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SGPC chief, said there was no need to lay the foundation stone for the administrative block as she had already laid the one on November 1, 2005.

However, the SGPC chief clarified that he had saved lakhs of rupees of the committee by handing over the work of the building to Baba Jagtar Singh of karsewa wale. He said as the contractor appointed by the former chief had refused to construct the administrative block, a resolution was passed by the five head priests to allot work to the Baba.