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ABSTRACT
With recent efforts towards nominating more Indian heritage sites to the World Heritage List, it is imperative that these be appropriately managed, in order to maintain their Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). Quite a few challenges in managing these properties are generic across the country, including issues related to holistic definition of heritage, legislation, missing use of customary laws and practices in heritage management. Efforts are in progress towards effective management, with increased emphasis on documentation and putting management systems in place. The perception of protection has evolved, having expanded to maintenance of values of the property and management that ensures that the OUV of the property is not compromised. Hence, tools like heritage or cultural impact assessment are becoming mandatory. An examination of these evolving models of World Heritage management through examples of World Heritage properties in Madhya Pradesh enables a better understanding of the scenario.
INTRODUCTION
The representation of cultural heritage sites inscribed as World Heritage from a particular country contributes to the strengthening of its national identity and marking the presence of the country on the global map. In turn, the nation must share the responsibility of ensuring that their OUV is maintained and the sites are safeguarded and managed through appropriate frameworks.
There is no special legal provision for World Heritage sites in India. The current legislative provisions are geared towards protecting single or collective monuments without taking into account the context or the extant built environment, thus making management of the values of the World Heritage sites difficult. Identification, demarcation and protection of conservation areas is not yet a standard practice many a times heritage legislation and planning laws tend to be in conflict. The recent amendment and validation of the pre-existing Act1 governing monuments and sites of national importance is geared to address this gap, though a successful example of its implementation is yet to be seen. The other factors that threaten World Heritage sites in India include environmental pressures, uncontrolled urban development, communal conflicts, poverty, lack of political will, lack of awareness of the value of heritage, low levels of funding, inadequate expertise and equipment and lack of inventories.
The challenges of management of WHS in Madhya Pradesh have been discussed through the case of Buddhist...