The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has launched a new heritage website and announced a special committee to speed up the review of construction projects in the old city. The move comes as Ahmedabad completes nine years as India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City.
The decisions were taken during the 100th meeting of the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC), held at Riverfront House. The meeting reviewed the city’s heritage conservation work and discussed future plans to protect old buildings while allowing planned development.The new HIA (Heritage Impact Assessment) sub-committee will examine proposals for non-heritage buildings in the World Heritage City area. This will help speed up approvals while ensuring that new projects do not harm the city’s heritage.
Officials said the HCC is currently looking after 2,692 listed heritage buildings and 382 more buildings on the tentative heritage list. These buildings are divided into different grades, and conservation work is carried out based on their importance.
The committee also reviewed Urban Design Guidelines, a design toolkit for new buildings in heritage areas, and the Heritage Impact Assessment policy. It also discussed the Sankdi Sheri regeneration project and the redevelopment of the AMC Central Store at Jamalpur.
Members were informed that 145 heritage properties have benefited under the Heritage Tradable Development Rights (HTDR) scheme. They also discussed guidelines for restoring traditional pol gates.
A proposal was also presented to set up a national-level institute that would provide expert advice and technical support for the conservation and maintenance of heritage buildings across India.