New Delhi, Dec 22: As many as 46 sites in India, including cities, monuments and archaeological sites are on UNESCO’s tentative list for consideration for nomination to bestow them World Heritage Status, Parliament was informed on Monday.
At present, India has 32 cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List, Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
“Moreover, there are 46 sites including Indian cities, monuments, archaeological sites, on UNESCO’s tentative list, which is a mandatory requirement before a site is finally considered for the nomination,” he added.
The tentative list includes Temples at Bishnupur in West Bengal; Mattanchery Palace, Ernakulam in Kerala; Group of Monuments at Mandu in Madhya Pradesh; Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh; Sri Harimandir Sahib, Amritsar in Punjab; and River Island of Majuli in midstream of Brahmaputra River in Assam.
The list also includes Mughal Gardens in Kashmir; Delhi – A Heritage City; Ekamra Kshetra – The Temple City in Bhubaneswar, Bahai House of Worship in New Delhi and Jaipur city of Rajasthan.
To another query, he said the two nomination proposals on cities — ‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’ and ‘The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai’– were submitted to World Heritage Centre in January, 2014 in which Delhi was prioritized.
Before the 39th Session of World Heritage Committee in July 2015, however, he said the proposing State Party had requested UNESCO Secretariat for postponement of the consideration of the nomination of ‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’.
