Delhi could have made history four years ago but ‘development’ scuttled its heritage city dream.
The national capital missed out on a chance to become the first Indian city to be called a ‘world heritage city’ by a whisker, as the Centre abruptly withdrew its nomination for a UNESCO World Heritage City tag in May 2015. Only a month was left for the final review of the nomination.
The government reasoned that it was done in view of the restrictions in carrying out infrastructure work in the national capital once the city makes it to the coveted list.
The prestigious badge was accorded to the walled city of Jaipur last week, making it the second Indian city to be bestowed the honour after Ahmedabad. The 15th century city of Ahmedabad, founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah, was declared a ‘world heritage city’ in July 2018, three years after Delhi opted out of the race.
Vexed over the government’s surprise withdrawal of the heritage proposal as it saw Ahmedabad and Jaipur leapfrog the national capital in the pecking order, heritage enthusiasts and conservationists have called on the Centre, Delhi government and agencies concerned to focus on preserving the city’s heritage and character for the ages and not wait for the coveted UNESCO tag.“It is clear that the (Centre) government didn’t want it (UNESCO tag). Its reasoning was inexplicable. They said development will stop if Delhi gets a heritage tag. We were nominating only 2 % area of the city,” Professor AGK Menon, urban planner and conservation consultant, said.
Menon was convener of the Delhi Chapter at Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which was engaged by the Delhi government to draft the dossier. The document was part of the formal application to UNESCO.
Negating the government’s justification, Swapna Liddle, historian and author, said it is wrong to assume that ‘heritage preservation stops development’. It is a myth that needs to dispelled, she added for good measure.
She said the Pink City is a classical example of how development and heritage can co-exist. “It is working on viable commercial model, not a museum. It is a heritage city with strong commercial component. The argument in the name of development is not justified. There is a lot of scope for change. Development doesn’t just freeze. Of course, you can’t make a 20 -storey building in place of a heritage bungalow,” said the author, who was also part of the INTACH team, which worked on the dossier.
The stakeholders, who have been associated with the project, said that realtor and traders’ lobby and friction between the Centre and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government nixed the city’s heritage dream.
“Real estate mafia, eyeing high value properties in Lutyens’ Bungalow zone, is one reason. And also, the dispensation did not connect with the colonial and Islamic (Mughal) architectural heritage. The tussle between the Delhi government and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre dashed the city’s quest for the coveted heritage tag,” said a representative of a stakeholder, requesting anonymity.
Shama Mitra Chenoy, author and professor of history at Shivaji College under Delhi University said that the nomination was likely taken back under pressure from traders.
“The proposal was withdrawn after the government at the Centre changed. Also, pressure from the traders’ lobby was brought to bear on the government, which is sad. Traders should have told about the importance of heritage. If the businessmen in Ahmedabad and Jaipur can accept this fact, why can’t people in Delhi’s walled city?” Chenoy, a resident of Sundar Nagar, said. She also worked on the dossier with INTACH.
Initially, the stakeholders proposed to pick the area between Yamuna (western bank) and the Central ridge for heritage city status. However, after meticulous brainstorming sessions to understand the city’s heritage and the universal value of the site being proposed for nomination, two cities of Delhi, under the title — ‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’ — Shahjahanabad, built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan (1639-48), and British colonial government’s capital — New Delhi (1911-31) — were finally selected.
Disapproving the government’s decision of withdrawing the nomination, Menon said that the UNESCO status would have helped us change the perception of the West. “We had fought a long battle to convince the west (UNESCO). We even had to battle our own people — bureaucrats and politicians. It was a unique opportunity lost,” he said.
The decision to pull out of the race for the UNESCO tag brought down the curtains down on a long-drawn process — years of planning and painstaking effort by different agencies and stakeholders. It surprised many, including government officials and institutions including Delhi government, which had spent `91.10 lakh towards preparing the dossier to nominate Delhi as the heritage city.
However, in August 2015, three months after withdrawal of nomination, then Union minister for tourism and culture Mahesh Sharma announced that the government had not withdrawn the nomination of Delhi but only “requested the UNESCO Secretariat for postponement of the consideration of the nomination”.
Menon said with or without UNESCO tag, all stakeholders in the cause should work to preserve the city heritage before it’s too late. “If other cities could do it why can’t Delhi? There’s no reason why it can’t. We don’t want heritage structures in the city to be reduced to mere showpieces here and there,” he said.
Nitin Panigrahi, deputy general manager (DGM), project and administration, Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), differed, saying, “Let’s not forget that the walled cities of Ahmedabad or Jaipur have already gone through transformation before being accorded the tag. The UNESCO tag may not make any difference on the ground. To cite a case in point, Lahore, though not a UNESCO-tagged city, has seen redevelopment effort going at pace with heritage conservation,” he said.
Atul Bhargava, president, New Delhi Traders’ Association (NDTA), said, “Heritage rules are trouble for us. If I have to repair my shop and make any change, I have to go through several levels and take permission, which is time-consuming and cumbersome,” he said.
A senior Delhi government official said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, had written to the Centre urging it to build a fresh case for the city to bag the UNESCO’s heritage tag. “In January, 2016, Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra requested Sharma to re-nominate Delhi to UNESCO’s list of heritage cities,” the official said. Despite repeated attempts, Sisodia couldn’t be reached for a comment.
A failed pursuit
July 2008: Delhi Government and INTACH signed an MoU to draft the dossier for recognition of Delhi as a ‘World Heritage City’ by UNESCO. During the course of preparations, INTACH organised seminars and workshops in which people were invited. Tourism department was the nodal agency
September 2011: The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) officially submitted the tentative nomination dossier to UNESCO. Though, the Delhi government initiated the process, nomination was sent through the ASI to the central government, which forwarded it to the UNESCO via the ministry of external affairs (MEA)
January 2014: Final dossier was submitted as India’s official nomination for the year 2014-15
October 2014: International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) visited the sites to assess the nomination
May, 2015: The Centre withdrew the nomination
June 2015: The final decision was due to be taken at UNESCO General Assembly in Bonn
August 2015: Union minister of tourism and culture Mahesh Sharma said that the nomination had been withdrawn. However, he clarified that the Centre had only requested the UNESCO secretariat to postpone the proposal
January 2016: Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra requested Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma to re-nominate Delhi to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Cities
August 2017: The Delhi government said it would urge the Centre to reconsider Delhi’s nomination for the UNESCO title
July 2018: Ahmedabad became the first from India to be declared as a World Heritage City
July 2019: Jaipur, or Pink City as it is popularly known, was accorded the heritage city tag