HYDERABAD: Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) urged municipal officials to form a team and to come up with a planned approach for conservation of urban heritage. While addressing a technical meeting with members of Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), UNESCO, HMDA and other municipal bodies of the State, Kumar said that officials, such as, town planner, and engineers should form a team and take up works themselves.
“Can we have a masterplan for restoring the heritage of the city? Kumar asked. In the meeting, the Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative was showcased to the various stakholders, and was portrayed as an example to how heritage can prove beneficial to the local economy, and help in social development.
The Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative, a project of the AKTC, comprises of the World Heritage Site of Humayun’s Tomb, the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti and several other age old monuments. The project which took 12 years to complete has successfully integrated conservation, socio-eonomic development and environmental developmental objectives.
On the direction of Kumar, MAUD officials in the coming days are planning to travel to New Delhi to study the Nizamuddin area and see the change on the ground. Paromita De Sarkar, a conservation architect also had a slew of recommendations for muncipal bodies to preserve heritage.
UNESCO leader calls for conservation
UNESCO India’s Chief of Culture Junhi Han, while speaking at the meeting urged stakeholders to undertake conservation projects by maximising adaptive re-use of historic buildings