The Hindu : Army to move out of Red Fort

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 02, 2002

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Army to move out of Red Fort

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI DEC. 1 .With the first few steps to get the Red Fort on the UNESCO's World Heritage list having been taken by the Union Tourism and Culture Ministry, the Army seems to be on its way out.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan, said: "I have had meetings with the Defence Ministry and have impressed upon them that the Army needs to be moved out, which is now being done. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has already taken over certain parts of the Fort and work in those areas has started.''

On the security front, since the Fort has been the target of a terrorist attack and the ASI unable to secure "protected'' monuments' tag, the Minister said: ``Security will not be an issue as we are going to get the Central security forces to protect the monument. We are working on the arrangements.'' ``World Heritage sites can't be Army establishments. It is against the 1972 Charter as well as the 1954 Charter. The Army has to be moved out from cultural sites because in case of war, the enemy might target these places and the site would be lost,'' explained Minja Yang of the World Heritage Centre, Paris.

Besides, getting the Army to move out, the Ministry is also working in tandem with the ASI to try and restore the Fort to its original Mughal glory. "Work has been done to restore the "jharokas'' and the "jalis''. Parts of the barracks will be gradually removed,'' the Minister said.

While Rang Mahal and Shah Burz have already been restored, steps are afoot to recreate the Mughal garden. Though, hopefully, all these steps will bring the Red Fort closer to the World Heritage title, much more needs to be done.

``A world heritage building must have a buffer zone around the core area, which is missing from the Red Fort. A management plan for the site is also a necessity,'' said an ASI official.

But as some historians feel, major parts of the Red Fort were destroyed in 1857 so there is very little authenticity. Therefore, getting it on the world heritage site map may be a tough task for the Central Government, they say.

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