As the World Heritage Committee of the UNESCO meets for its 33rd session at Seville in Spain to declare the World Heritage Sites for the year, India may once again miss out on having a city of the list.

Though senior officials in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will attend the meet in Spain along with officials of the Ministry of Culture, they are sceptical about the prospects of Delhi getting World Heritage City status, though heritage conservation bodies like the Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) have been working towards this end.

“We had signed a MoU with the Delhi government to flesh out eight heritage routes across the city last August and if the heritage structures and precincts get connected through the Heritage Circuit we will be a step closer to the World Heritage City status,” said AGK Menon, convenor of Delhi chapter, INTACH. 

With the World Monument Fund sponsoring the detailed documentation of the project, the plan details and maps are ready. However, their implementation has been difficult as the routes fall under various civic bodies like Delhi Development Authority, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Public Works Department.

“The good news is that the state government is now taking the Heritage Circuit seriously and has been holding meetings with the civic bodies. We are also going to begin work on one heritage route which runs from the Delhi Gate to Kotla Feroze Shah as the pilot project,” Menon told the Newsline.

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