Chandigarh, July 29
Gen (Retd) S.F.Rodrigues, Administrator, has approved the “Chandigarh Heritage Regulations”, demarcating three zones in the city, for the status of World Heritage City under a project of UNESCO. The approved rules are now being whetted before a formal notification shortly.
The core zones included in the project map are the Capitol Park in Sector 1, the Cultural Complex in Sector 10 and the Leisure Valley from Sector 3 in the northeast to Sector 23 in the southwest.
The Capitol Park zone extends from the northeast edge of Rajendra Park to the southeast end of the Sukhna, the Punjab and Haryana High Court,the Vidhan Sabha, the secretariat and all monuments within the complex.
The cultural complex includes Government College of Art and Museum and Art Gallery. The project map also demarcates a buffer zone.
No intervention will be allowed in areas and buildings included in the core zones. It has been clarified that “where possible,effort will be made to reverse the changes made to these, or to find a more appropriate solution in tune with internationally accepted ethics of conservation”.
All interventions in the core zones will be monitored by a heritage committee which, besides key functionaries of the administration, will include representatives from the Archeological Survey of India, Le Corbusier Foundation and the office of UNESCO in India.
Certain buildings which do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the heritage list have been earmarked as requiring special attention. These include the Old Architect's Office in Sector 19, the Government Press in Sector 18 and Gandhi Bhavan at Panjab University.
The buffer zone includes the Sukhna wetlands and the wildlife sanctuary. It also includes Patiala-ki-Rao choe. The area in this category is protected under the Wildlife Act. Uttar Marg and Dakshin Marg are also considered part of the buffer zone.
Chandigarh plans to host a workshop on management of modern heritage, especially modern cities, from December 19 to 21.