Delhi’s quest for earning the prestigious tag of a World Heritage City begins with the Ministry of Culture sending a full-fledged dossier to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by January-end.
The Ministry would have to highlight the heritage behind each site and explain that all the proposed sites are being maintained as per the international standards for Delhi to get this coveted tag.
According to a senior UNESCO official, the Ministry has to explain why each site is of unique outstanding value.
“The Ministry of Culture would have to send Delhi as India’s nomination for the title of World Heritage City by this month end for the UNESCO to decide whether all the sites are being maintained and the city can be given this status. The nomination dossier for Delhi was prepared by the team of experts but it is yet to be submitted officially to the UNESCO,” the official told The Hindu .
Noting that the Ministry of Culture is currently examining which nomination dossier to be submitted officially to Paris this year, the UNESCO official said it would have to explain how these sites are different from others.
The proposal “Delhi: A Heritage City” was submitted by the Union Government to the UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre in 2012. It is now part of the tentative list.
The dossier is currently with the Archaeological Survey of India, which works under the jurisdiction of the Union Ministry of Culture.
It was meticulously prepared by the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage. According to INTACH Delhi Chapter convenor A.G.K. Menon, under whose supervision the dossier has been completed, it was a challenging task. “For the past three years, we have been working on preparing the dossier. A big team of researchers have been working. As far as conservation of sites is concerned, INTACH along with the Government has been maintaining sites at Shahjahanabad. Delhi has so many sites but the problem is how to preserve them.”
Apart from the three World Heritage Sites — the Humayun’s Tomb, the Red Fort and the Qutab Minar — Lutyen’s Zone has the iconic India Gate, Parliament, Hyderabad House, North Block and South Block.
Delhi Urban Development Minister Manish Sisodia speaking to The Hindu said: “As Minister of Urban Development, I think that if Delhi got listed it will be a matter of pride. Even if Mumbai gets listed it will be a matter of pride for me as an Indian.”
