The Committee, at its twenty-first session in 1997, requested the Government of India to report on the findings of the structural studies being undertaken with World Heritage Fund Emergency Assistance. The Government of India was also requested to keep the Secretariat informed in the meantime, to enable UNESCO to mobilize additional international co-operation to undertake corrective measures, as required. The report on the structural studies has not been submitted and the World Heritage Centre has not received sufficient justification for the continuation of financial support for this study.
Since May 1998, the World Heritage Centre received information concerning the continued deterioration of the stone structures at the Sun Temple of Konarak. To cite but one example, a stone at the north-east side of the Jagamohan porch, weighing 2 tons, reportedly fell on the Pidha ledge of the Sun Temple on 19 September 1998.
The Bureau, having examined the new developments at the Sun Temple of Konarak, expressed serious concern over its state of conservation, and requested the Government of India to take urgent measures to halt the deterioration of the stone structures at this site. The Bureau requested the World Heritage Centre to field a mission with the assistance of the advisory bodies to (a) prepare a report on the state of conservation of the site and the adequacy of conservation measures in place; (b) recommend, if necessary, additional measures that may be needed for the conservation of the site; and (c) assist the Government of India in submitting information concerning the structural study, implemented with financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund Emergency Assistance Reserve made available in 1998. The Bureau requested the World Heritage Centre to submit a report of the mission for review by the Bureau at its twenty-third extraordinary session, and invited the Government of India to clarify whether or not it intends to nominate this site for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger.