National Monuments Authority under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has recognised Ahmedabad University’s Centre for Heritage Management as an expert heritage body. With this it will be listed as a leading institution for archaeology and built heritage conservation for the West and Central region. The Centre for Heritage Management, along with 12 other institutions are added to the list of expert bodies and are expected to support the Government in expanding the need for heritage bye-laws for Centrally Protected Monuments and Protected Areas.
Neel Kamal Chapagain, Director, Centre for Heritage Management, in his reaction said, “Though many monuments are listed as centrally protected, their protection makes no sense unless legally and institutionally articulated as such. Even existing bye-laws may need further contextualisation for each protected monument. It is in this regard that we were approached by the National Monuments Authority recently, and we responded positively. It is our philosophy to learn about heritage in every context, and reciprocally we are always happy to contribute back in any way for the upkeep of it.”
