A holistic heritage conservation plan

The efforts made by the Telangana government in the direction of protecting its heritage sites have created a buzz about heritage and culture.

Steps were taken by Telangana Government:

• Moazzam Jahi Market (1935) was restored at a reported cost of Rs 16 crore.
• Bansilalpet stepwell was restored at Rs 2.6 crore.
• The restoration of a century-old library and two municipal markets is in the pipeline.

Recent achievements:

• Ramappa temple (13^th-century temple) near Warangal was given the UNESCO World Heritage site
• The Golconda stepwells and Domakonda Fort were winners in UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific awards for cultural heritage conservation in 2022.

Future Plans:

• The World Bank and Government of India project mapped the steps to create an ‘inclusive heritage-based city development in India.
  • The detailed project report identified a 4.29 km stretch of the river Musi for action.
  • It prescribed structural improvement to heritage buildings and retaining walls.
• To achieve the UNESCO World Heritage City status for Hyderabad, like Ahmedabad and Jaipur.
  • This will help to boost tourism.

What is Cultural Heritage?

• Cultural Heritage includes physical, or tangible cultural heritage, such as artworks. These are generally split into two groups of movable and immovable heritage:
  • Immovable heritage includes buildings, historic places, and monuments.
  • Moveable heritage includes books, documents, moveable artworks, music, and other artefacts that are considered worthy of preservation for the future.

What is the Significance of Preserving Cultural Heritage?

• Economic significance: Cultural industries are key components of modern economies. The prevalence of cultural sites, services, and art forms tends to boost tourism, sustain livelihoods, and attract investment.
• Historical-Social significance: The non-economic benefits of culture include the preservation of history, the generation of knowledge, and the nurturing of creativity

Issues Related to Heritage Management in India:

• Lack of Centralised Database for Heritage Sites: India lacks a complete national-level database with the state-wise distribution of heritage structure.
  • However, Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has inventoried about 60,000 buildings in around 150 cities which is still only the tip of the iceberg as there are estimated more than 4000 heritage towns and cities in the country.
• Outdated Mechanism of Excavation and Exploration: Due to the prevalence of outdated mechanisms, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing are rarely used in exploration.
• Lack of Centre-State Coordination: Despite the presence of some of the best conservation and heritage management institutions in India like the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a multidisciplinary approach to practising heritage conservation is lacking due to a lack of coordination between the centre and the state.
• Prevailing Developmental Activities over Heritage Conservation: In India, many sites with rich deposits of archaeological remains have been destroyed due to developmental activities.
• Urban renewal activities are compartmentalized both in terms of city development planning and investments.
  • This is a key challenge as the revitalization of built heritage or a site cannot happen in isolation and a holistic perspective is needed.