It might not come as a surprise if the 11th century Pallava-era Sri Kailasanathar temple in Kancheepuram grabs international attention for being one of the most treasured cultural sites. Or if the Kakatiya monuments of Warangal or the megalithic-era Umbrella Stones become one of the most applauded world heritage sites soon.

The reason is southern states vied with each other in capturing the attention of the advisory committee on world heritage matter (ACWHM), set up by the Union government to review the tentative list of heritage sites from India on the Unesco list and make suitable recommendations.

Besides the Kailasanathar temple, which is unique among the Pallava temples, the Archaeological Survey of India suggested the group of monuments in Gingee from 11th century. The TN government (tourism department), NGOs, Intach, and school of architecture, Anna University, have sought inclusion of Srirangam temple, Chettinad palace, Kazhugumalai rock sculptures, Pulicat lake, Fort St. George and Ram Sethu.

While Andhra Pradesh proposed the Kakatiya monuments, Nagarjuna Konda and Lepakshi temple, Kerala wanted the historic Padmanabhapuram palace – an excellent workmanship in wooden art - Umbrella Stones, the Mattanchery palace and Edakkal caves to be included in the list. Karnataka sought inclusion of Bidar, Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur and Halebidu. Puducherry made a presentation at a workshop here on Friday.

Ms Aruna Bagchee, chairperson, tentative list working group, ACWHM, Sujit Banerjee, chairman, ACWHM, Satyabhama Badreeenath, superintending archaeologist, Chennai circle, ASI, principal secretary, Tamil Nadu tourism Rameshram Mishra, and Steve Borgia, member, ACWHM, spoke.The final recommendations will be used to prepare the revised tentative list for India by year-end and the final nominees will be presented before Unesco panel to be declared as world heritage sites.

India should have its own list of heritage sites: Aruna Bagchee

“India, with such a rich cultural heritage, should have its own list of heritage sites at national level,” says Aruna Bagchee, chairperson, tentative list working group, Advisory Committee on World Heritage Matter (ACWHM) under the Union culture ministry, on Unesco list.

Ms Aruna said she was amazed at the profound wealth of the country’s culture and heritage. “This is good reason why we should have our own national list,” she told this correspondent on Friday.
During her visit, she found that India possessed good expertise on conserving monuments and projecting history. “Not only the officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) but also those in the private sector are capable of preserving the sites,” she said.

Ms Aruna would wind up her interaction with various stakeholders by attending meetings of the remaining states covering the North East and Central regions. The ACWHM, established to review the tentative list of heritage sites from India on the Unesco, reviewed the list for southern states on Friday.

“We identify the potential heritage sites based outstanding universal value (OUV) and potential. Our work is only advisory,” she said and added that the proposals for two sites would be submitted to the Unesco for approval.

TN panel to help save heritage structures

The state government has constituted a Heritage Commission for Tamil Nadu for conserving the structures not protected by ASI or state archaeological department.

The commission will use incentives and penal provisions to preserve public and private historic structures. Apart from penalising those who deface heritage buildings, it will exempt owners of such structures from payment of taxes or fee for supply of water and grant them certificates of right of development. The commission will advise local bodies on how to raise repair funds for heritage buildings from private sources.

The local bodies will regulate hoardings and other advertisement structures near heritage buildings and document records of historic structures. The commission, slated to meet once in three months, will be led by a heritage conservation expert and has 16 members, including top officials.