The price for conserving this “Venice of Mughal Creativity” is estimated to be over Rs200 crore, spread over eleven years.
NEW DELHI: ‘Heavy lies the head that wears the crown.’ The adage is perfect to describe the Red Fort, which on Thursday, was formally given the World Heritage Site status by UNESCO.
Chosen from over 450 global ‘properties’ by the UN body’s World Heritage Committee, the recognition brings with it colossal responsibility. A minute lack of maintenance would be enough to take away the status from the 17th century Mughal marvel.
The price for conserving this “Venice of Mughal Creativity” is estimated to be over Rs200 crore, spread over eleven years. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) with the help of the ministry of culture and tourism is already working on a Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) for the Red Fort complex.
“We are working on a multi-disciplinary plan that would be spread over a period of eleven years. The CCMP would look at all important aspects of the Red Fort including renovation, beautification and landscaping,” said Abhijit Sengupta, secretary (Culture).
It has been reliably learnt that a draft plan has already been prepared by a private consultancy firm and handed over to the ASI for consideration.
“A survey has been done for the entire complex and a final decision on the CCMP is awaited. Though the exact cost has not been worked out, it is expected to cross Rs200 crore,” said Vijay Madan, additional director general, ASI.
Though the WHC had selected Red Fort as a world heritage site in June this year, a formal ceremony to mark the feat was organised on Thursday. Koichiro Matsuura, director general, UNESCO handed over the world heritage site certificate to Sengupta at a ceremony organised at the red sandstone monument’s Diwan-i-Khas lawns.
A proposal to include the monument in the world heritage site list had earlier been struck down in 1993, with the WHC citing multiple administrative control of the monument as the cause for the exclusion. Subsequently, the ASI took over the sole responsibility of the monument in December 2003 from defence agencies. Since then, 2.6 million dollars (Rs13.1 crore) have been spent on the maintenance of the monument.
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