Historic City of Ahmadabad

Factors identified at the time of inscription:

• Low-impact research / monitoring activities (Lack of comprehensive and accurate documentation of the historic buildings of the property)
• Commercial development, Housing (Potential impact of new constructions and development projects on the western section of the property and its buffer zone)
• Management Systems / Management Plans (Lack of effective implementation of the Heritage Management Plan; Incomplete Local Area Heritage Plan; Lack of a visitor management plan) 
• Human resources (Need to enrich the Heritage Department at Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation with relevant capacity building and technical capacity)

On 9 December 2019, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1551/documents and provides the following information:

• The documentation of historic buildings has progressed with the implementation of an initial sample survey (8 buildings) and the establishment of a panel of architects to assist with the work. The documentation method includes measured drawings; photographic documentation of elevations, interiors and roof constructions; and a rapid condition assessment. In January 2019, a workshop was conducted in collaboration with the University of York (United Kingdom) and CEPT University (Ahmadabad, India) to disseminate knowledge about documentation methods. By November 2019, the documentation of 70 buildings was completed. Because of the vast scale of work required and the large number of residential properties, the State Party estimates that this work will be completed by July 2021;
• Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) have been undertaken for eight projects. It is mandatory for HIAs to be submitted with the project applications;
• Restoration works have been completed for approximately 2.5 km of city walls and three city gates;
• The Common Gujarat Development Control Regulations (CGDCR) were revised in 2019, with a dedicated section on the heritage of Ahmadabad. It establishes the Core Walled City Zone and describes the important typological characteristics of the pol houses and related policies. New incentives for homeowners have been introduced;
• Early steps have been taken to prepare a comprehensive Conservation Plan that will include the provisions of the Local Area Plan and the Visitor Management Plan. This is expected to be completed in December 2020;
• To strengthen the heritage capacities of the Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation, the ‘Ahmadabad World Heritage City Trust’ has been established and several key specialist positions have been appointed. Various community engagement and awareness activities have been initiated.

The progress towards the documentation of historic buildings in Ahmadabad is welcomed and constitutes an essential foundation for the long-term management and preservation of the city’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Not only should such documentation be curated as a static archive, but the State Party should also be encouraged to continue considering how it can be effectively incorporated into the management system, so that the records assist decision-making and monitoring processes, ensuring that future changes are recorded. The State Party advises that this work will be completed by July 2021; however, given that there could be more than 2,000 buildings to record, many of which are residences, this timeframe for completion could be ambitious.

The request for HIAs in relation to all applications for development is welcomed as an important component of urban World Heritage management systems. The concerns raised by the ICOMOS Evaluation related in particular to developments on the western side of the property and in the buffer zone, but it is not clear from the material provided by the State Party whether these have now been fully addressed. The State Party has indicated that no high-rise development is permitted, but it is not clear whether this provision also applies to the buffer zone as well as the inscribed urban area. It is also recommended that HIA be applied to heritage restoration projects, since these can have impacts on the values of the property that should be understood in advance.

Following the inscription, media reports highlighted problems associated with traffic congestion, pollution and neglected pol buildings in poor condition. The State Party’s response of May 2018 regarding the efforts made by the Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation to monitor and address these long-term challenges is noted. In 2019, the State Party provided information about the Hutheesing Jain Temple, noting that some conservation work had been completed, but that further restoration works awaited the required financial resources. Concerns from civil society have also been received about the state of conservation of the Said Tomb of Hazarat Qutub-e-Aalam, demonstrating the scale of the needed programme of conservation works; there have been forwarded to the State Party with a request for feedback, in line with Paragraph 174 of the Operational Guidelines.

Improvements to the local regulations to support the conservation of the urban fabric of Ahmadabad are welcomed, particularly for the pol houses. The extent of the newly established Core Walled City Zone is not indicated, but is presumed to correlate with the boundaries of the World Heritage property; it is suggested that an accurate map, realized in accordance with the specifications of Annex 5, point 1.e of the Operational Guidelines, be provided along with the text of the regulations (in English).

While a number of tourism and visitor management actions have been implemented, the creation of the Visitor Management Plan is considered an essential component of the management system. Recalling the Committee’s recommendation that the Local Area Plan be completed, with a special focus on the conservation of wooden houses, the updated information on the process and expected timeframes for the Heritage Conservation Plan (including the Local Area Plan and the Visitor Management Plan) is noted.