Delhi government may soon begin research for UNESCO World Heritage City status bid

The Delhi government will soon begin research for the proposal to be submitted for the world heritage city status for Delhi, officials said on Wednesday after deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia held a meeting with representatives of INTACH, tourism department, urban development, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation to ensure that various stakeholders were on board over the proposal.

Last month, members of INTACH had met chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to discuss Delhi’s nomination to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Cities.

“The meeting with more stakeholders was to discuss and understand what had happened last time. The secretary of tourism has been directed to find out details on the objections that were raised before and do background research to understand the feasibility and the status on the objections that were raised earlier,” said Abhinandita Mathur, cultural advisor to Delhi government.

AG Krishna Menon, chief consultant at INTACH, said, “In 2015, when Delhi’s name was proposed, there was no precedent of a part of the city being nominated. However, there are now examples such as Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Mumbai.” In 2015, the Centre had withdrawn the proposal, saying it could affect infrastructure development in the city.

While Ahmedabad and Jaipur were accorded the badge for the World Heritage City in 2017 and 2019, Mumbai’s cluster of Victorian and Art Deco buildings in the Fort precinct and Marine Drive were declared Unesco World Heritage sites in 2018. “A lot depends on UNESCO. They may ask us to resubmit the dossier or may ask us to consider the updated version of the dossier,” he said.

A tourism department official said, “We need to see what is required to revise the proposal and whether it can be revised in present form or the entire dossier needs to be prepared again,” the official said.

INTACH had earlier said an increased number of protected buildings and a precedence of other Indian cities getting the World Heritage City tag has improved Delhi’s chances of getting the coveted tag.

First Published: Sep 04, 2019 20:08 IST