Heritage And Place Makinga Missing Chapter In Urban Planning And Development In India

In this new section, we share the views of thinking people, and throw them open for discussion, disection and analysis. in short, for you to think about and send in your own thoughts and responses. in this conversation, we share ar. gurmeet rai’s thoughts

- Gurmeet Rai

As a conservation professional I have several years of experience working with organisations engaged with cultural heritage, such as the Archaeological Survey of India and state departments of archaeology. Issues related to the need for ‘place making’ to achieve an improved quality of urban environment around heritage sites, which are specifically related to the needs of women and children, ecology, public art and its contribution to community engagement, equitable access to public goods etc., need to be central to planning in urban areas.

Heritage management seems to have caught the attention of the Government of India in its first ever flagship project of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in the HRIDAY program (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana). But is HRIDAY a lesser program than the other programs which are more heavily endowed with resources such as the SMART City, AMRUT etc?