Chandigarh not a World Heritage City, says Centre
The Union ministry of culture and tourism on Monday stated that Chandigarh had not been designated as a World Heritage City after local MP Manish Tewari had raised a query
In response to a query by Chandigarh member of Parliament Manish Tewari, the Union ministry of culture and tourism on Monday stated that Chandigarh had not been designated as a World Heritage City.

However, the Capitol Complex in Chandigarh has been inscribed as a Transnational World Heritage Property in 2016 under the title “The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.”
This Transnational World Heritage Property includes seven countries comprising Argentina, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Japan and India.
Tewari had asked Union minister of culture and tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, “Whether the Union territory of Chandigarh is designated as a heritage city and the details of specific/established criteria for designating a city as a heritage city by the Government of India, UNESCO or any other international organisations.”
In his response during the ongoing Budget session in the Parliament, Shekhawat elaborated on the cultural criteria of UNESCO World Heritage Property: “To be designated as World Heritage Property, the place must represent a masterpiece of human creative genius, exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. It should bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation, which is living or which has disappeared, and be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape, which illustrates significant stage(s) in human history.”
Besides, it should be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use or sea-use, which is representative of a culture (or cultures) or human interaction with the environment, especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change.
The response added that Ahmedabad and Jaipur were the only two cities in India designated as World Heritage Cities.
What does it imply
The Expert Heritage Committee for Chandigarh was established by the Government of India to advise on the conservation of the city’s heritage. The committee’s recommendations led to the creation of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee (CHCC) in 2012. However, with the Centre stating that Chandigarh was not a heritage city, the reply has raised a question mark on the locus standi of this committee.
Every project in Chandigarh in the city has to get the approval of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee.
A total of 13 zones in the city have been shortlisted for Heritage status. These heritage areas have been graded in three categories. The Chandigarh Master Plan has placed several buildings, including private, commercial, religious and cultural under the ambit of heritage.
