NEW DELHI: A massive exercise to verify over 1,400 notified heritage structures spreading across the city, initiated by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) for the new master plan of Delhi (MPD) 2041, is on the verge of completion. According to officials associated with the preparation of the plan, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is likely to submit the final survey report
after a week.
The trust was entrusted with surveying the notified sites —properties or precinct. With completion of physical verification and proper documentation of the structures, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will work to finalise development control norms for protection and conservation of tangible cultural heritage for development of tourism circuit to boost economy, said Anurag Jain, vice chairman of DDA.
To formulate the MPD 2041, the DDA had roped in NIUA. Following a petition for conservation of heritage buildings, excluding protected sites under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Delhi’s archeology department, 767 properties or precinct structures such as havelis, tombs, gateways, wells, and bastion under the jurisdiction of the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi and 141 such edifices located in New Delhi Municipal Council’s, were notified. In 2016, nearly 550 such sites were also identified.
Jain explained that an exercise was undertaken to delineate heritage precincts for creation of tourism circuits but more details were required hence the survey was initiated. “The survey is still underway. The draft of the MPD has a separate chapter on heritage. How this heritage will help to boost the economy is the thrust of the MPD. In Delhi, within a walking distance of 5-8 kilometres, one can see a lot of heritage sites. That is being highlighted. We approved this as a concept to aid tourism and the economy in the city.”