ગુજરાતી
English
Heritage houses demolished in Khadia to build four to five storey flats
Ahmedabad 1 January 2025 (Google translation from Gujarati, Gujarati is considered correct on dispute)
The city of Ahmedabad is 613 years old. The city wall was inspired by the structure of the city. There were 12 gates. Ahmedabad was declared a world heritage city in July 2017. No special work has been done to preserve historical buildings. Even after 7 years, the BJP government of Ahmedabad has not done anything to preserve valuable heritage buildings. On the contrary, corruption is being done to do business worth crores by demolishing historical buildings.
Ellisbridge MLA Amit Shah in Jamalpur. Jamalpur-Khadia MLA Imran Khedawala alleged that land worth Rs 200 crore has been demolished and converted into an illegal Kabaddi market. Up to 5 storey flats.
The demolition of historical houses in Kharia has raised fears that Ahmedabad will lose its status as a heritage city due to the corruption of BJP leaders.
There are 2800 heritage properties in Kharia and Kot areas of Ahmedabad as well as in the Central Zone. Heritage warriors are protecting the heritage, the suffering of those who follow the heritage is immense. The government should buy these houses. Otherwise, old Ahmedabad will break down and become cement. Now there are people who cannot buy houses elsewhere. People who have become financially prosperous are leaving the old city.
Ahmedabad was given the status of the country’s first World Heritage City by UNESCO in the year 2027.
Now local leaders are demolishing heritage buildings and houses in Kharia ward and Kot area and building flats. We will be able to preserve historical heritage in the future.
It was demanded that all the heritage buildings of the Central Zone like havelis, houses, mosques, temples churches etc. should be surveyed and maintained.
Apart from CT Survey No. 2220 Haveli Pol, Madan Gopalni Haveli Road, KhadiaDesai Pol, two havelis have been demolished in Khadia and 4-storey flats have been constructed. It has Sundaram flats and Smriti flats.
On 20 September 2024, construction is being done on Madan Gopal Haveli Road without prior written approval of the Municipal Corporation. SB Builders owner Amit Bhalchandra Parikh and others were given a notice to remove this construction and stop the ongoing construction.
The most heritage property in Khadia is located in Desai’s block. Flat type construction has been done by the builder in the plot. The ward BJP president lives in this flat.
The World Heritage City is worth seeing on paper. Only one of the three doors is open. Clothes are drying on the mausoleum of Rani Hajira.
In 2019, 31 heritage buildings were demolished due to negligence and new buildings were built in their place. Despite the decision, no action was taken against the new building. There is a heritage of 2200 buildings in Kot area. Raikhad gate was launched by giving it a heritage look.
Houses are demolished due to the ward inspector, deputy estate officer, heritage department working in Madhyakshetra Estate Department. Although houses are being demolished in Kharia ward, the property department or heritage department officials could not demolish illegal houses.
Brass strip
A heritage residential building was demolished in Pitalia Pol of Sarangpur.
Sarangpur Sarkiwad
Two residential heritage houses were demolished in Sarkiwad of Sarangpur and more than a hundred shops were built. Seals were put three times. The shops were entered by opening the seal. Hundred shops have not been demolished yet.
Raja Mehta Manzil
The heritage department has approved the renovation of a heritage residential building in Raja Mehta Pol in Kalupur. A commercial building was built in its place. No action has been taken till date.
Haja Patel Road
Haja Patel’s line is being demolished. Old buildings are being demolished to build shopping complexes. The original local Ahmedabadis are struggling. Now only those people are left in the pol who are not able to leave the pol house and buy their own house elsewhere.
Ghanchi Pol
In Ganchi Pol, heritage 3 houses were demolished and commercial buildings were constructed.
Approvals wreaked havoc
The situation has worsened since the single window system was introduced in 3 years for approval of repairs and restoration of heritage monuments and buildings of the city. Its rules were relaxed.
There is a fee of Rs 300 for changing the proof of ownership and guarantee letter. The high fee was waived for passing the plan. Maps prepared by the Ahmedabad World Heritage Trust as part of the documentation work on the restoration of 300 houses are provided free of cost. Which is used in plan passing.
Historical monuments are demolished under the supervision of high officials. Heritage tagged private properties were used. Half of the houses with heritage value tag have been demolished. Construction on T girder.
Action should be taken against the TDO inspector of that area to prevent the historical heritage from getting damaged.
Ruling BJP’s scam
This scam is being done by the BJP government. How it is done is a serious matter.
Heritage properties are getting destroyed. The rulers could not preserve the heritage properties. The list came to the Central Zone Estate Department in numbers to take action against the constructions.
The city’s historical properties have been controversial since the beginning. Between 2000 and 2010, 12,500 historical
The properties were
declared. Rules for the conservation and repair of heritage properties were also promulgated.
From 2011 to 2016, 10,000 heritage properties were reported missing when the SEP conducted a survey.
According to the September survey, there were 2236 residential type heritage properties in Shahpur, Khadia, Kalupur, Jamalpur, Raikhad and Dariyapur wards of the central region.
A total of 2985 historical properties were declared along with 449 properties of institutional type.
Since the dossier was sent to UNESCO, how 10,000 properties disappeared from the September survey has not been investigated till date.
Out of the 2985 properties declared, 600 i.e. 20 percent properties again fell short. Land mafia and politicians of the Madhya Kshetra Estate Department are responsible. On getting information about the scam, an on-the-spot investigation was conducted by the committee members. In which it was said that the houses were being demolished and construction was being done. The list was sent to the estate officer of the central region to seal it.
The Heritage Committee was asked to seal Mahajan Wando Jamalpur Ward in Kansara Pole, Veraipada Pole, Chippa Pole in Kalupur, Ramji Street in Kharia, Sarkarwad in Kharia, two properties in Chandlapol in Kharia and Sarkiwad in Talia Pol in Kharia.
The policy is to protect the artistic structure from outside and repair and renovate it from inside. Instead, heritage buildings are arbitrarily rebuilt from the ground up.
In the two years 2020 and 2021, 40 heritage houses were demolished and new construction was done there.
In 2019, 31 houses were given notice and some were demolished.
Most of the 67 properties are in Grade-1. 427 properties are in Grade-2 category. 1545 properties are in Grade-III.
These 2039 properties in 175 pols of the city are heritage.
The Urban Development Department is asked to form a heritage conservation committee every 3 years, but no such committee has been formed since 2016.
In 2013, the Gujarat High Court ordered the government to formulate a policy to protect heritage buildings and monuments.
The government had said in an affidavit that no proposal has been taken to amend the GDCR. It has not decided to allow commercial activity in the area.
AUDA sent a proposal to the government for consideration on February 26, 2015.
The government said that after the survey, no building will be allowed to be repaired except dilapidated and collapsed houses.
600 houses in danger
According to the 2019 survey, more than 600 heritage buildings were in danger. The houses had become dangerous due to lack of repair. Now it can increase to more than 1 thousand in 2025. Merchants’ goods are kept in some fields.
Identity at stake
Along with this, the heritage identity of the Kot area is also in danger. Initial estimates are that 50 to 100 heritage buildings are deteriorating every year in the Kot area. There has been a delay in installing heritage plates according to gradation.
GDCR failed
Ahmedabad city officials issued a circular that if a house has commercial activity for 3 years and pays its property tax, then it will become a property dealer. Which is against the rules of GDCR.
The law failed
The government has made the Monument and Archaeological Rights and Remains Act-2010 for the protection of heritage in the country. It is a crime to build without permission within 300 meters around the heritage site. The law has failed in Ahmedabad. According to which many cases were made. Due to faulty investigation, not a single case could be proved according to this law. A sanitation worker who is engaged in cleaning a monument or heritage can be a complainant and file a complaint.
The Archaeological Department sits in Vadodara. They never inspect any place.
The notice has been issued by the Vadodara Head Office. But they are not doing the legal process.
If found guilty, there is a provision of two years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.
Injustice
Former Khadi Committee Amul President Balwantrai Bhatt said that we have no right to take any policy decision in the matter of heritage houses.
Wrong expenditure, right not known
Till February 2024, the Heritage Department does not have accurate information about the heritage properties of the city and the expenditure incurred on them in the last 6 years. The renovation work of Calicodome on Relief Road was Rs. which increased to Rs. 1 crore 50 lakhs. 2 crores became 50 lakhs.
Rs. 32 crore was to be spent in 2024 for the renovation of Alicepool.
Rs. Lal Darwaza Heritage City Terminus was constructed at a cost of 8 crore 80 lakhs.
The state government has a small budget of Rs. 2 thousand 98 crores.
On the other hand, Narendra Modi’s government has a budget of Rs. 3500 crores. Rs 4500 crores are being spent to make the National Maritime Heritage Complex of international standard.
Gandhiji’s property
America returned 1400 heritage items to India but we could not save our heritage. In 2021, the Labor Mahajan Sangh was ready to sell the properties established by Mahatma Gandhi and falling in the heritage category. Anusuyaben Sarabhai Memorial, Textile Labor Union, Shyamaprasad Vasavada Memorial Trust are the properties. The cabinet has no right to sell or lease the properties of the institution established by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Ahmedabad is ranked 7th among the cheapest cities in the world. Per capita income is higher than other cities
. According to the 2021 report of the Economy Intelligence Unit, Ahmedabad was declared a Songhu city. One of the top 30 most polluted cities in the world in 2019
Ahmedabad was the same in 2024. A 2023 report said that common people cannot afford homes as home prices are at an all-time high. Ahmedabad Mun. Corporation will ask the World Bank for Rs. 4,317.67 crore loan due in 2024.
Ahmedabad had 26 cultural cities in the competition. Apart from Ahmedabad from India, there were cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Orissa.
Ahmedabad was declared the final heritage city on 28 May 2020. Ahmedabad’s nomination was supported by 20 countries including Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia, Portugal, Peru, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Finland, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Croatia, Poland, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Korea. , Angola and Cuba
These countries unanimously chose Ahmedabad as a city with secular coexistence of Islamic, Hindu and Jain communities over the years, in addition to the architecture of carved wooden mansions.
Many people and many organizations have contributed to getting the city World Heritage status. The first study was initiated by the Ford Foundation in 1984. A heritage walk was launched. A heritage cell was set up. Ahmedabad was included in the provisional list of UNESCO World Heritage Cities on 31 March 2011.
The preparation of the Ahmedabad dossier was started by Professor Ravindra Vasavada of Sept University. Once a draft document was returned from UNESCO. Finally on 8 July 2017, Ahmedabad got the status of World Heritage Site.
There are 287 World Heritage Cities in the world including Paris, Cairo, Edinburgh. In which there is Bhaktapur in Nepal and Galle city of Sri Lanka in the Indian subcontinent.
Why not Junagadh?
Junagadh city has a more ancient historical heritage than the city of Ahmedabad which has received global status as India’s only heritage city.Junagadh, the only surviving city of two thousand years, has not received the status of a global ancient city. Because, officials like Nair did not prepare their dossier.
Violation of condition
Based on the study of Ahmedabad, UNESCO has also laid down conditions for the conservation of the heritage city, such as de-stressing the monuments, preserving monuments and heritage buildings in Polo, besides solving the traffic-parking problem. But the reality is that the conservation of monuments and heritage buildings in Polo does not seem to be happening. Many ancient houses with artistic carvings on wood have fallen into a dilapidated state.
Time magazine
On 14 July 2022, Ahmedabad, India’s first UNESCO World Heritage city, was included in the list of “The World’s 50 Greatest Places of 2022” by Time magazine. Kerala was also in Time magazine’s list of the World’s Greatest Places 2022. The city is known not only for its mythological architecture but also for its modern inventions and achievements. The Gandhi Ashram is spread over 36 acres on the banks of the Sabarmati River. In addition, Navratri, celebrated for nine days, is one of the longest dance festivals in the world.
Science City, Theme Park, Entertainment Center, Nature Park on 20 acres of land, Robot Gallery, Aquarium, was written by Time.
Apart from Kerala and Ahmedabad, the names of many popular and world famous places like UAE, Australia, Spain, Bhutan, Zambia, Rwanda etc. have been added to this list.
An official boasted
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Heritage Department Deputy Manager P.K. Ahmedabad was given the honor of Heritage City by Vasudevan Nair.
PK Vasudevan Nair was the project head of the Archaeological Survey of India for the restoration of the temple of Lord Brahma at Angkorkot Wat in Cambodia with the participation of the Government of India from 2004 to 2007. Retired from ASI and joined Heritage Cell, Ahmedabad. After the 2001 earthquake, he worked on the restoration of Darwaza, Modhera Sun Temple, Dholavira and many other sites of Archaeological Survey of India around Ahmedabad.
As Deputy Manager of Heritage Department, Ahmedabad, he played an important role in the restoration of monuments like Bhadra Plaza, Polna House, Chabutra and Vav etc. of Ahmedabad.
P.K. Vasudevan Nair was born on 19 May 1947. He started his career as an archaeological engineer. He worked on many important archaeological sites of India.
Citizens also tried to work to preserve heritage.
A dossier was to be sent to UNESCO to get Ahmedabad the status of World Heritage City. The task of preparing this dossier was assigned to Professor Ravindra Vasavada, then head of the postgraduate course in conservation at Sept University and Gir Conservation Center.
Commissioner I.P. Gautam made him the head of the Heritage Cell. The heritage section was the foundation brick. He made the Heritage Cell a Heritage Department. He also laid down rules and regulations and also carried out restoration work on buildings.
PK Nair played an important role in getting the necessary documents from the corporation to submit the dossier to UNESCO. It was very difficult to get such documents from 2011 to 2018. This project had to go to UNESCO from ASI itself.
The dossier and presentation prepared by Nair and Professor Vasavada gave Ahmedabad the status of a World Heritage City.
The wall surrounding the city of Ahmedabad had become a ruin. The walls around the city were completely destroyed.
Significant work was done on the conservation of walls. Wall repair work was done from Khanpur Darwaza towards Shahpur and near Alice Bridge.
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He also did good work for Islamic monuments. He also worked on the restoration of the mosque that collapsed in Gomtipur after the 2001 earthquake.
There were many monuments in Ahmedabad, which were not included in the state or ASI list. This work was done by the Heritage Department of AMC.
Nair was working to preserve the wooden carvings of half-timbered houses which are the identity of Gujarat’s culture. The Heritage Department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation worked to restore many mansion-like buildings in Pol.
Benches made of wood, stone or metal in the floor were restored. The old stepwell was renovated.
Bhadra played an important role in developing the plaza. The careless people of Ahmedabad are not using it properly.
Note to UNESCO
The note prepared by UNESCO while declaring Ahmedabad as a heritage city says a lot.
Historic City of Ahmedabad
The walled city of Ahmedabad, founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River in the 15th century, has a rich architectural heritage of the Sultanate period, including a beautiful citadel, fortified city walls and gates, and numerous mosques and tombs. It also has important Hindu and Jain temples of later periods. The urban structure consists of densely populated traditional houses (pol) in gated traditional streets (pol), with distinctive features such as bird feeding platforms, public wells, and religious institutions. The city has evolved over six centuries as the capital of the state of Gujarat.
Outstanding Universal Value
A Brief Synthesis
The city of Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 by Sultan Ahmad Shah on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River.
The old city is considered an archaeological entity. It has survived for many centuries. Its urban archaeology based on remains from the pre-Sultanate and Sultanate periods reinforces its historical significance.
The architecture of the Sultanate period monuments reflects the unique blend of the multicultural character of the historic city. This heritage is linked to other religious buildings and complementary traditions embodied in the very rich domestic wooden architecture of the old city, which includes its distinctive “havelis”, “polos” (gated residential main streets), and baris. The inner gateways are the main components. It is presented as an expression of community organizational networks, as it is also an integral part of Ahmedabad’s urban heritage.
The wooden architecture of the historic city is of exceptional significance and is the most unique aspect of its heritage. It reflects Ahmedabad’s significant contribution to cultural traditions, arts and crafts, structure design and choice of materials, and its association with mythology and symbols, which emphasized its cultural ties with the inhabitants. The city’s style of domestic architecture is an important example of regional architecture with community-specific work and family lifestyles. The presence of institutions associated with several religions (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Judaism) makes Ahmedabad’s historic urban structure an exceptional and unique example of multicultural coexistence.
Criterion (ii): The historic architecture of the city from the 15th century Sultanate period reflects the significant exchange of human values during its time, truly reflecting the culture of the ruling migrant communities. The reconciliation plan was based on the respective principles of human values and mutually accepted norms of community life and sharing. Its monumental buildings representing religious philosophies present fine examples of craftsmanship and technology, leading to the development of a significant regional Sultanate architectural expression that is unique in India. To establish their dominance in the region, the Sultanate rulers reused parts and elements of local religious buildings and converted them into mosques in the city. Many new mosques were also built as small buildings, making maximum use of local artisans and masons, giving them complete freedom to use their indigenous craftsmanship. Hence, architecture developed a typical provincial Sultanate idiom, where local traditions and crafts were adopted into Islamic religious buildings, even if they did not strictly follow the principles of Islamic religious buildings. Thus the monuments of the Sultanate period provide a unique stage of development of architecture and technology for monumental art during the 15th century period of Western Indian history.
Criterion (v): The planning of the settlements of the city of Ahmedabad, including streets and community spaces, reflects a sense of local intelligence and strong community ties. A house is a self-sufficient unit with its own provisions for water, sanitation and climate control (note the courtyard). Its image and concept is a simple example of accommodation with religious symbolism expressed through wood carvings and straight bearings. When adopted as acceptable by the community, it created an ideal settlement pattern with the needs of the community expressed in its public spaces at the settlement level and a self-sufficient gated street. Thus a densely populated settlement pattern of pollards was created.
The city provides an outstanding example of human habitation.
Integrity
Ahmedabad has evolved over a period of six centuries, reflecting completeness and integrity in urbanization
The city absorbs changes and developments with its traditional flexibility.
The state of its integrity, including the topography and geomorphology of the historic city, is still largely intact. Progressive implementation of infrastructure by local authorities has led to changes in hydrology and natural features. Its built environment, both historic and contemporary, is subject to change and development in relation to the city’s population and community aspirations. Its infrastructure in above-ground and below-ground structures has also been progressively added and/or expanded as required. Its open spaces and gardens, its land use patterns and spatial organization are largely unchanged from earlier times, with little change in footprints, perceptions and visual relationships (both internal and external); changes in the height and massing of buildings, as well as all other elements of urban character, structure and composition, have in most cases remained within the existing historic boundaries and massing, although there have been some deviations over time.
Authority
The settlement architecture of Ahmedabad expresses a strong sense of character through its imaginative domestic buildings. Wooden architecture is so preferred that it is unique to the city. The form of the entire settlement is very ‘organic’ in its functioning given its climatic response for year-round comfort for the inhabitants.
The construction of the fort, the three gates at the end of the Maidan-i-Shahi, and the Jama Masjid with its large grounds to the north and south, were the first acts of Sultan Ahmed Shah to establish this Islamic city. On both sides of the Maidan-i-Shahi and on the periphery around the Jama Masjid, suburbs developed in successive stages of development.
The material used in the construction of domestic buildings for all communities is wood mixed with brick masonry. Wood also provides very good climatic comfort and human qualities in its use. It had a great unifying effect in the development of harmonious living environment, quite fundamental control over the shape in its building elements gave it harmonious qualities.
The shape of the house reflects a very strong understanding of the accepted type of planning, there is a central courtyard within the house, regardless of its overall size. Depending on the size of the house, the internal functions were always carried out around or along the courtyard. This was basically the same in all communities.
The concept of ‘Mahajan’ (noble-association), where all people joined regardless of their religious beliefs, created a culture of society where there was a great sense of social welfare and sharing. This was also seen in other major communities of Islamic and Hindu-Jain followers. Community bonding as a response to healthy coexistence was the inner duty of all people. Bazaars were organized on this basis and all traders and industrialists became part of them, where individual interests were subordinated to collective morality and ethics. Thus the sharing culture became an important resource to encourage exemplary enterprise in the city, which helped the city gradually develop as a strong place with industry and trade that established it as a major center globally.
Conservation and Management Requirements
Ahmedabad comprises 28 monuments listed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), one monument listed by the State Archaeological Department (SDA) and 2,696 important buildings protected by the heritage department at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
The monuments listed by the ASI enjoy legal protection at the national level through the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and the Amendment and Recognition Act, 2010 (AMASR). The monuments listed by the SDA are of regional importance and are protected by the AMASR.
The buildings and places listed by the AMC (component of the walled historic city) are protected as areas with special regulations under the development plan of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA).
The heritage department, AMC, as the nodal agency for heritage management in Ahmedabad, plays a key role in the preparation of the city’s heritage management plan. This is supported by all the relevant administrative branches of the AMC as well as authorities such as ASI, Gujarat SDA and National Monuments Authority along with AUDA.
The Heritage Department in the AMC should be enriched with capacity building and technical capacity commensurate with the challenging size and extent of the city’s documentation, conservation and monitoring responsibilities. The proposed Heritage Management Plan is an important tool for the conservation and sustainable management of the city’s cultural heritage. The management plan aims to ensure the protection and enhancement of the outstanding universal value of the historic city of Ahmedabad while promoting sustainable development using the historic urban landscape approach. It aims to integrate cultural heritage conservation and sustainable urban development of historic areas as a key component of all decision-making processes at the city, agglomeration and larger regional levels. The effective implementation of the Heritage Management Plan along with the finalisation, ratification and implementation of amendments to the Development Control Regulations will be undertaken.
Implementation should be ensured.
To complement the heritage management plan, a visitor management plan for the city should be prepared, approved and implemented.
The local area p
plan should be completed and implemented as part of the heritage conservation plan with a special focus on the conservation of historic log houses.
Historic buildings on the property, especially privately owned log houses, should be comprehensively and accurately documented in accordance with accepted international standards for documenting historic buildings for conservation and management purposes.
The extent and impact of new construction and development projects in the western part of the city should be assessed in detail. (Google translation from Gujarati, Gujarati is considered correct on dispute)
