NEW DELHI: The Centre may have withdrawn Delhi’s nomination for the World Heritage City tag, but all’s not lost if experts are to be believed. They claim that the city could still be in the race next year.

For this, the Delhi government will have to engage in a dialogue with the Centre so that the latter asks Unesco to proceed with the nomination dossier , which can be reviewed in June, 2016. If Unesco releases Delhi’s report for review by December this year, the city’s nomination will be eligible in next June.

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Delhi tourism minister Jitender Tomar said the government was pursuing the issue with the Centre. “I have written to the central government asking them to reconsider their decision. It has taken a lot of time and effort to reach this far, and the heritage tag would be matter of great pride. The nominated zones are a very small area. This will not impact development,’’ he said.

Intach, the organization that prepared Delhi’s nomination dossier on behalf of the government, is also actively pursuing the issue with the city government. “We have written to the CM and asked for a meeting to be held on the issue. All files pertaining to the world heritage issue are being reviewed again. The Centre withdrew Delhi’s report before it could be released for review by the Unesco world heritage committee. If the Centre asks Unesco to release the report, it could be examined again in the 2016 world heritage session,’’ said an official.

According to sources, the Delhi government has spent up to Rs 2 crore for the nomination. The Sheila Dikshit government had signed an MoU with Intach in 2008 to prepare for a tentative listing and came out with the final dossier. “Now, it’s up to the AAP government. If it pursues the matter with the Centre, Delhi’s nomination could be eligible. But given the ongoing tussle between the state and the Centre, this might not be a priority for the AAP dispensation,’’ said a heritage expert.

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That the state government is keen on nominating Delhi for the Unesco tag can be gauged from the fact that in January this year it had established Delhi Heritage Management Secretariat, a special cell that will focus on the preservation and development of the Walled City.

“Lutyens’ zone already has regulations in place, which will not be affected due to the world heritage tag. The nomination dossier spells out that Delhi has a well-established mechanism for protecting the identified OUV (outstanding universal value) and that no additional laws are required other than those that are already in place or in the process of being prepared as per the mandate of MPD 2021. It is a myth that development will be curbed. Development will continue as prescribed by our existing regulations. Besides, all development will be vetted by DUAC and HCC,’’ said an official.

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