NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is planning to geo-map more than 1,300 protected heritage buildings and havelis across the city with the aim to strengthen their preservation & management, prevent unauthorised construction and further aid conservation efforts.
According to officials privy to the matter, the exercise will take around six months and will create an interactive digital map by plotting the precise locations of heritage properties along with spatial data.
An official said, “The interactive map once ready will be uploaded on MCD’s heritage website for tourists and can be used by the civic body to check on the current status of these buildings.” Senior officials from the MCD’s heritage cell said the civic body will soon begin the process of appointing a consultant for the project, which will be responsible for creating a digital database of all MCD-notified heritage properties along with their precise locations and other details.
Officials said that the initiative follows complaints that building plans had been approved for some protected structures, including in parts of Old Delhi, because the corporation’s online building plan approval system did not identify them as heritage properties.
“In some cases, property owners allegedly submitted incorrect affidavits while applying for building plan approvals. Since these properties were not mapped on the portal, the violations went undetected,” the official said, while further stating that these monuments have already been geo-tagged by the corporation and geo-mapping will further strengthen the data of these heritage buildings.
Once geo-mapped, every single heritage property will be linked to its address and geographical coordinates. The information will be integrated with the MCD’s online building plan approval portal so that any application involving a protected property is flagged. This will prevent approvals that violate heritage norms..
The civic body also plans to install information boards at the identified heritage sites.
Officials further informed that the geo-mapped database would eventually be made available on the official MCD website, allowing residents and visitors to locate and learn about the city’s protected heritage buildings, which could also support heritage tourism.
The civic body has notified more than 1,300 heritage structures, including historic havelis and other old buildings, under its jurisdiction, officials privy to the details added.
Filtering approvals
Once geo-mapped, every single heritage property will be linked to its address and geographical coordinates. The information will also be integrated with the MCD’s online building plan approval portal so that any application involving a protected property is automatically flagged. This would prevent approvals that violate the heritage regulations in place. The civic body also plans to install information boards at the identified heritage sites. The MCD has notified more than 1,300 heritage structures.
