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| Rang Ghar at Sivasagar. File picture |
Guwahati, Nov. 2: The ministry of culture is considering six more sites from the Northeast for inclusion in the World Heritage List.
The exercise is being undertaken by the advisory committee on World Heritage Matters under the ministry of culture.The committee, comprising experts in the fields of natural heritage, conservation, urban planning, risk analysis, tourism promotion and others, has already initiated the revision of the tentative list through an extensive process of consultation.
The sites from the Northeast which are being considered are Ahom monuments of Sivasagar, historical sites in Sivasagar, Ziro Valley, Guwahati a heritage city, Tembang Dzong a fort village of Monpas in Arunachal Pradesh and Kawtchhuah Ropui, the great entrance in Mizoram.
At present, Kaziranga and Manas are the two sites from the Northeast on the World Heritage List.
For a site to be considered suitable for inclusion on the list, it has to be on the tentative list of the World Heritage Committee, S.S. Gupta, superintending archaeologist, Guwahati circle, Archaeological Survey of India, said at a news conference here today.
India currently has 34 properties on the tentative list, of which one Namdapha National Park is from the Northeast. The Centre had included it on the list in 2006.
India has 28 sites on the World Heritage List. After preparing a tentative list and selecting sites from it, the government plans for a nomination.
The World Heritage Centre offers advice and assistance to the government to prepare the file, which needs to be as exhaustive as possible, making sure the necessary documentation and maps are included. The nomination is submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review.
Once the nomination file is complete, the centre sends it to the appropriate advisory committees for evaluation.
Gupta said there is tremendous scope for sites from the Northeast. He said the idea is to identify properties with a more scientific approach, under represented categories of heritage of potential World Heritage value.
A workshop on World Heritage: Revising Tentative List of India North East Zone is being held tomorrow to discuss the six sites that have been identified.
The workshop is being organised by the Archaeological Survey of India, Guwahati circle, along with the advisory committee on World Heritage Matters.
Five consultative workshops have been held on the revision of the tentative list.
The final recommendations from the workshops will be used to prepare the revised tentative list for the Centre by December.
To be included in the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of 10 criteria.
These criteria are explained in the operational guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
The committee regularly revises the criteria to reflect the evolution of the world heritage concept.
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