Pink City gets UNESCO World Heritage tag; city can get $100,000 for conservation

Jaipur, the pink city, has finally become a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is India’s first planned city founded by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727, and is only the second Indian city to feature on the prestigious list.

“In case of need, any World Heritage site can utilise World Heritage Funds for purpose of conservation, training to build capacity for management of WH site. The scale is not that big, can go up to $100,000 at several occasions. It shows solidarity of international community toward a World Heritage in need of such assistance. This happens only in case of need and only upon request, which will be examined also by UNESCO and Advisory committee to the convention,” said Junhi Han, Chief, Culture Sector and Programme Specialist for Culture, UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The decision to include Jaipur in the World Heritage list, was taken in Azerbaijan’s Baku at the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) that started on June 30 and will conclude on July 10. Campaign for the 292-year-old Jaipur, designed by Bengali architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, had started in 2015 when it was first nominated.

Jaipur’s town planning shows an ‘interchange of ancient Hindu, Mughal and contemporary Western ideas’ that shaped the city, a UNESCO statement said. The city houses various architectural styles, an example of the amalgamation of cultures.

Jaipur has been the latest Indian city to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, a feat that was announced at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Baku.  shared that