Context - DronahFront elevation of one of Jorawarmalji’s haveli, the fifth haveli in the northern row of the Patuon ki Haveli group. This belongs to the first half of the nineteenth

Journal of the Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage

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modern technology for sustainable development.

We recognize the need for knowledge sharing and

mutual interaction for this purpose. The idea of the

organization is to understand and document the

complex matrix of our environment including

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Editorial ......................................................................................................................... 5

Compiling Records

Design Principles in the Elevation of a Haveli:Jorawarmalji’s Haveli, JaisalmerHimanish Das ............................................................................................................... 7

Mandu: The Royal Living of the Bygone EraTapas Kumar Bhattacharyya and Arunabha Chatterjee .................................... 11

Methods and Approaches

Contemporary Research on South Asian Architecture :Issues and ApproachesAdam Hardy and all ................................................................................................. 16

Restoration of the Santhome CathedralRavi Gundu Rao & Associates ................................................................................. 25

Design Interventions in the Urban Areas of Jharkhand : Urban TransformationsAjay Khare .................................................................................................................. 35

Transport Policy & Management : Calculating Risks and OptionsRavinder N. Batta ...................................................................................................... 39

Proposed Action Plan for Conservation of Waterbodies in DelhiManu Bhatnagar ......................................................................................................... 47

Self Help Groups : A Successful Alternative for Poverty AlleviationJyotika Khimta ........................................................................................................... 53

Sustainable Solutions

Post Earthquake RehabilitationYatin Pandya ............................................................................................................... 58

A Partnership Approach to Local Energy Management betweenEuropean and Asian CitiesPeter Webber, Vasco Ferreira, Manuel Pardo,Don Lack, Luis Castanheira ..................................................................................... 67

Heritage Album

Gingee FortKamalahasan Ramaswamy ...................................................................................... 75

Painted Houses of HazaribaghBulu Imam ................................................................................................................... 80

Reviews

The Case of the Intach CharterVishakha Kawathekar, Paromita De Sarkar and Gurmeet S. Rai ...................... 83

Events .......................................................................................................................... 90

Contents

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Chief EditorShikha Jain

Board of EditorsAjay Khare

Cheena KanwalSuchandra Bardhan

Editorial Advisors Adam Hardy,

PRASADA, Welsh School ofArchitecture, Cardiff, UK

A.G.K. Menon TVB School of Habitat Studies,

New Delhi

Madhuri Desai,University of California, Berkeley,

USA

Rima HoojaMSID India Program,

University of Minnesota,USA

Shankar Ghose Charkha,

Development CommunicationNetwork, New Delhi

Monideep ChattopadhyayDept. of Architecture,

Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Designing and ProductionC. Sujatha and Birendra Prasad

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Copyright © 2004 Dronah, India

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ISBN:81-902313-1-6Vol II Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2005

Editorial

The balance that holds our system together is certainly gravelyin need of corrections. And it has to start with the interpretationin our minds of the environment around us and moreimportantly in recognising the place we have been assigned inthis comprehensive order – the system. Fritz Schumacher saidthat science and engineering can only produce ‘know how’ –the ‘technology’ but it can not produce ideas by which tosustain life. So we turn to art, a very human subject.

CONTEXT is an idea and in this issue, we follow on in bringingto you the problems, issues and some solutions that relate tous. The documentation section presents impressive renderingsof a haveli in Jaisalmer and evolution of design and built form atMandu.

The feature articles are an interesting mélange for individualpreference starting with doctoral research approaches forstudying south Asian art and architecture at PRASADA andmoving on to the technical aspects of building conservation inSanthome Cathedral. The following articles have a special focuson sustainable urban planning highlighting the difficulties andbreakdown of metropolitan life and interventions required inphysical and transport planning presented informatively byAjay Khare and Ravinder Batta. The article by Jyotika Khimtaprovides a glimpse of community initiatives with its first handexperience in assisting economic liberation of women in ruralIndia.

‘Sustainable Solutions’ documents two case studies – one inpost earthquake rehabilitation at home and another in energymanagement partnership across borders.

Heritage Album showcases the grandeur of the remains ofGingee Fort captured by architect Kamalahasan through hiscamera and the magnificence of numerous unnamed artists whocarry on the tradition of painted houses of Hazaribagh.

Hoping you enjoy it all!

Cheena KanwalFrom the Board of Editors

6 Compiling Records

Compiling Records

Design Principles in the Elevation of a Haveli:Jorawarmalji’s Haveli, Jaisalmer

HIMANISH DAS ............................................................. pg.7

The author is a Doctoral student at PRASADA, UK.

Mandu: The Royal Living of the Bygone Era

TAPAS KUMAR BHATTACHARYYA AND ARUNABHA

CHATTERJEE ............................................................. pg.11

Tapas Kumar Bhattacharyya is Reader & former HOD,

Department of Architecture, Jadavpur University and

Arunabha Chatterjee, Student of M.Arch.

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Compiling Records 7

n the western part of Rajasthan lies the desert city of Jaisalmer, which owedits prosperity to its location on the trade route from the Doab valley to Sindand Afghanistan. Jaisalmer is famous for its fort and its many havelis

(courtyard houses) built in ochre-coloured sandstone showing intricate buildingcrafts of the region. The eithteenth and nineteenth centuries can be consideredthe ‘golden age’ in the development of architectural tradition of Jaisalmer. Peaceand prosperity during this period allowed wealthy merchants to build havelis ofunprecedented scale and grandeur, rivaling even royal palaces and otherbuildings.

Three distinct architectural schools, or shaili, have emerged in Jaisalmer sincelate medieval times. The Sompuriya shaili (the Sompuras are traditional templebuilders) has its roots in the medieval architecture known from survivingtemples, the Mughlai shaili is influenced by the imperial Mughal style, while theAngrezi (English) shaili brought an influx of western Classicism. Broadlyspeaking the schools correspond to three phases, but there were moments whenthe different schools worked alongside one another, and sometimes the threearchitectural languages were deliberately mixed together in a single building.

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8 Compiling RecordsThe huge, four-storey front elevation of Jorawarmalji’s haveli is a superb composition of windows,jharokhas and panelled wall surfaces, extensively sheathed in decorative carving, interwoven withplain surfaces that provide a foil. The first floor is the most elaborate, the decorative treatmentbecoming progressively bolder and simpler towards the top of the building, where ornament isless perceptible from the street. Monotony, in such a large and symmetrical façade with itsstructural pillars all in a single plane, is avoided through variation in width among the seven bays,and also with ingenious modulation of projections. The overall massing may be interpreted as agiant ‘T’, comprising three floors, projected from the surface of the façade, supported onbrackets. This rests on a porous diwankhana (verandah-like space) on the ground floor, its fivecentral bays treated so as to accentuate the ‘T’ above, with a porous basement floor below. Thecentral bay on the first, second and third floor, steps out progressively from the surface of the‘T’, right up to the level of the parapet. This bold composition is enriched by the diversity ofjharokha forms.

In the ‘kit of parts’ that makes up the architectural vocabulary, abasic unit is the aedicule, as Adam Hardy has shown in relation toIndian temple architecture.1 An aedicule is a miniaturerepresentation of a building, and the design skill in this traditionlies partly in inventive variations on the various types of aedicule,and partly in the way that a palette of different types is arranged.In these havelis, windows and jharokhas (balcony-pavilions) aretreated as aedicules, along with wall-panels and niches. Elementssuch as pillars, brackets (including cusped arch brackets) andchajjas (stone canopies or awnings providing shade) are theconstituents of the aedicule.

Compiling Records 9

Front elevation of one of Jorawarmalji’s haveli , the fifth haveli in the northern row of the Patuon ki Haveli group. This belongs tothe first half of the nineteenth century, and its style is decidedly Mughlai.

10 Compiling Records

Characteristic of the mature Mughlai shaili are thepanelled external wall surfaces, integrated with thestructural layout, although this is not practicallynecessary as the outer planes are detached from theload-bearing pillars and beams. Each bay is dividedinto three vertical panels, the central panel wider thanthe side ones and the position of the pillars is alsomarked by panels, generating a distinctive horizontalrhythm across the breadth of the façade. It is thecentral panels that are treated most emphatically asaedicules, whether windows or jharokhas. Horizontalbands such as string courses and chajja canopies(some corresponding to floors or ceilings) run acrossthe verticals, creating swathes of shadow and aframework providing an opportunity for furtherenrichment through a great variety of tracery patterns,some blind and others open jalis.

Through these means the craftsmen gave this buildinga public face of great beauty and complexity. One ofthe many surprises that it holds in store for thespectator on the street is found in the five centralbays of the second floor, which correspond to achandni (open terrace) immediately behind the façade.Looking up at the façade one can see patches of sky,deftly framed by the window and jharokha openingsthat add an element of sheer surprise! ¶

Notes and References1 Adam Hardy, 1995, Indian Temple Architecture, Form and

Transformation, IGNCA, New Delhi

Compiling Records 11

Columns at Mandu

2

“What words of mine can describe the beauty of thegrass and the wildflowers? They clothe each hill anddale, each slope and plain. I know of no place sopleasant in climate and so pretty in scenery as Mandu inthe rainy season..! What I have noticed is but a smallpart of the many beauties of Mandu!”

—Jehangir, The MughalEmperor

IntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroductionIntroduction

Situated in the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Shadiabad or the present Mandu was an important city ofthe ancient and particularly the medieval India. Consequent to its location as well as topographical advantages, thecity of Mandu flourished. Being situated on an isolated and inaccessible spur of the eastern edge of the Malwaplateau, it was an excellent natural fortification. Besides its strategic significance, it was rated to be a place ofpreference by the conquerors for its natural beauty and delightful mild climate.

Mandu experienced a conglomeration of different cultures, religions and especially dynastic ambitions, power andpleasure contributed by the invading emperors over the centuries, forming a complex but unique characteristic of itsown. Gradually, Mandu became a symbol of abode of princely romance. Some of the palaces were constructed overthe hilltops; some in the midst of water bodies or on the waterfront and some in the middle of grand gardenssignifying the very fascination of the patrons for lush landscaping. The scale and elegance of the palacesmanifested a passion of the Royal Emperors of Mandu for majesty, pomp and gaiety. The extravagant lifestyle ispossibly best portrayed in the buildings of the Royal Enclave, lyrically set in a magnificent environment of theplateau.


Plan of Dilwar Khan’s Maqbara

Dilawar Khan’s Maqbara - Thetomb of Dilawar Khan [died AD 1405]is the earliest example of IslamicPathan architecture in Mandu. Thisarchitectural style clearly indicates thatoriginally it was a temple. This fact canbe supported by the decoration with alarge number of bracketed pillars and aflat roof without any dome. Possiblyunder the Muslim rule, it wasconverted into a mosque. DilawarKhan Ghauri was buried here after hisdeath and so it was converted into atomb that became to be known asDilawar Khan’s Maqbara.

HistoryHistoryHistoryHistoryHistory

The Hindu city Dhar, a place about 24 miles north ofMandu was the capital of Malwa, a part of today’sMadhya Pradesh. Muslim conquest in the areabegan in 1305 AD when the area was brought intothe Delhi Sultanate and was ruled by a governorinstalled under Ala-ud-din Khilji. As with manyother Muslim conquests, among the first statebuildings to come up were mosques, built withpillars taken from Hindu temples, very similar to theQu’wwat-ul-Islam mosque at the Qutub, Delhi.

The sack of the city of Delhi by Timur and theconsequent decline of power of the Sultanate atDelhi prompted Dilawar Khan, the then GhauriGovernor of Mandu to declare his independenceand proclaimed himself as the Shah in 1401 AD. Herenamed it Shadiabad - the City of Joy. It was left tohis son, Hoshang Shah, to shift the capital fromDhar to the plateau of Mandu. Bounded on threesides by a rift valley, and overlooking the Narmadato the south from a height of 300 metres, the fortressof Mandu was virtually invincible. Mandu wasannexed by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1569 A.D.

The greatest Mughal emperor Akbar had many ofthe battlements and gates smashed in 1564 AD

Natyagriha - It is a majestic space wherebig conventions were held or musical andcultural programs were performed. Therewere two green rooms on the two sides ofthe stage. There is a passageway connectingthis Natyagriha with the Royal Residence.This was the way through which the royalladies could enter the Natyagriha. Therewere separate sitting arrangements for theroyal members and the general people. Thegeneral people used to sit in a common areasurrounded by lofty arched walls in front ofthe stage. There was a main entry for theoutsiders. There were beautiful columns infront of the stage which could be traced outfrom the ruins.


Jahaz Mahal

Jahaz Mahal - This is the most prominent and

less damaged building of the Royal Complex. It

is believed to have been built by the Sultan

Ghiyas-ud-din Khilji for his large harem.

The Jahaz Mahal is a 120 metre(400 foot) long

‘ship palace’ built between two artificial lakes,

Munj Talao (tank) and Kapur Talao. This is an

elegant two-storied building. With its open

pavilions, balconies overhanging the water and

open terrace, the Jahaz Mahal is an imaginative

recreation in stone of a royal pleasure craft.

The building accommodated hundreds of

queens in the harem. The pavilions on the

rooftop acted as shelters against rains and

facilitated ceremonial occasions of pleasure.

The rooftop itself was utilized as a collector of

rain in a very scientific way. The harvested

water after getting collected on the roof

travelled through meandering pathways and

channels to various fountains depicting floral

patterns on the roofs at lower terraces.

during the first of his four visits, when he came hereto subjugate a rebellious governor. This marked theend of the independent Pathan sultans of Malwa,who had known Mandu as Shadiabad. Akbar got averse inscribed that translated thus:

Lo, the owl hath built her nestIn Shirwan Shah’s high storeyWarning nightly by her cry‘Where now thy pomp and glory?

Even Akbar could not resist the temptation to put hisname down on the magnificent structures built byformer Afghan rulers. The Ashrafi Mahal, once athriving madarasa as well as the tomb of three Khiljisultans of Malwa, bears a stone engraving in whichAkbar reminded the onlooker that he, too, got repairsdone here. But it was Jehangir who paid the richesttributes to Mandu. Earlier, a battle-weary Humayunhad fallen victim to the beauty of Mandu-in-the-rain.The Akbarnama notes that he developed an opiumhabit during his stay here, a possible reason for hissubsequent downfall. During Mughal rule, Manducontinued to be a pleasure resort, its lakes andpalaces the scenes of splendid and extravagantfestivities. And the glory of Mandu lives on, in itspalaces and mosques, in legends and songschronicled for posterity.

Monuments of ManduMonuments of ManduMonuments of ManduMonuments of ManduMonuments of Mandu

The monuments of Mandu can be broadly dividedinto several categories of which the Royal Enclave,primarily consisting of a number of palaces andfunctional spaces for allied activities, is one of theprominent groups of buildings. The others may beclassified as - the village, or the central groupconsisting of Jami Masjid, a huge mosque withadequate space for a big crowd for prayer andprovision for accommodation of the priests; AshrafiMahal - a centre for Islamic education and residentialaccommodation for students; Hoshang Shah’s Tomb- the first marble edifice in the country which was aninspiration to the architects of Taj Mahal who came tosee it under instruction of Shah Jahan and, the RewaKund group -the magnificent buildings in thiscomplex are threaded with a nostalgic emotionalgarland of love stories of the poet prince Baz Bahadurand Rani Roopmati.

Each of these groups can claim its excellence inarchitectural monumentality, style and decoration.The design of most of the buildings, however, lacks


Plan of Hindola Mahal

Hamam (Turkish bath) -The floor of theTurkish bath had small holes by which theSultan and his queens could enjoy steamedsauna baths. The double water channels alongthe perimeter carried hot and cold wateralternately. The opening in the channels couldbe plugged and unplugged to store water atany desired temperature in small tubs alongthe walls. The roof of the Hamam wasconstructed in stone masonry with puncturesresembling the moon and the stars. Light, ina mystified way could enter the bath and adramatic environment of light and shadecould be experienced through suchprojections on walls and floors. Sufficientillumination from the sun and the moon wasalso ensured during bathing for such dramaticornamentation. This vividly signified thebathing luxury of the elites.

Hindola Mahal -Another grand structurewithin the Royal Enclave, Hindola Mahal wasan audience hall, also belonging to Ghiyas-ud-din’s era, and derived its name of a ‘swingingpalace’ possibly from its sloping sidewalls.The sloping buttresses also added significantlyto the structural stability of the building.Superb and innovative techniques are alsoevident in its ornamental facade, delicateframework in sandstone and beautifullymolded columns. This vast longitudinal roomwith enormous arches punctuating its length -is uncharacteristically massive, with stronglybuttressed walls adding to its pompousness.

in purity of style since the buildings or theircomponents reflect architectural styles from theruling dynasties of varied origins.

Royal Enclave - The Royal Enclave is the mostpreserved, complete and romantic set of buildings atMandu. The setting of almost all buildings andstructures of the complex portrays a strong sense ofplanning. Judicious location of axes, nodes, edgesand vistas excellently attribute to the complexfervour of beauty and a sense of joy. The presence ofa couple of large lakes has been very dramaticallyharnessed in the overall landscaping plan of thecomplex. The contours of the land have also beenpotentially utilized in the design and development ofthe buildings in the complex. Most of the buildings inthe complex are more than one storey high. Themultiple levels of these buildings are arranged in anappreciable way so as to create a sense oftogetherness and romance. The balanced distributionof flanking water bodies, green landscaping andgrand plazas ensures a coziness of ambience androyal grandeur.

The various building elements in each buildingpossess thoughtful and intricate ornamentation. Thepillars, lintels, doors and openings in most of thebuildings bear this decorative ornamentation. Accessto water bodies from multiple levels, interconnectingwater channels, rain water harvesting from roofs andterraces of buildings, Turkish bath, the steam bath,the ornamental and meandering routing of waterchannels, the floral designs of fountains and vastlakes for idle boating reflect a strong passion of the


Notes and References

Brown, Percy.,1981.Indian Architecture, D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co

Pvt. Ltd.,

Havell, E.B. 1978, Indian Architecture, S. Chand & Co Pvt. Ltd.,.

Grover, Satish, 1981. The Architecture of India, Islamic (727-1707A.D),

Vikash Publishing House Pvt. Ltd..

Albanese, Marilia 1999.Architecture in India, Om Book Services.

Indian Society of Engineering Geology, 1992, Indian Monuments Through

the Ages, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd.,

Tour Reports prepared and submitted under the guidance of the present

author by the students of the Department of Architecture on Mandu

during their Educational Tour in 2004.

rulers for water as a design element. Thewell thought planning of the interiorspaces for accommodating variousfunctional facilities also reflect a goodsense of design and the opulence inlifestyle of the sultans and shahs whocreated it.

Royal Residence - While Jahaz Mahalstands timeless in its grandeur andbeauty boastfully dominating the north– south axis of the Royal Complex, theRoyal Residence located somewhat atthe middle of the complex can bereferred to as a significant part of theRoyal Complex. Located on the northernside of the Munj Talao the RoyalResidence extends to the east up toChampa Baoli, to the north up to theroyal theatre and hamam (hot bath). It isconnected to all these buildings bypassages, arched gateways, longarcades and steps of various widths atdifferent levels. ¶

Sectionalelevationof TurkishBath

16 Research Approaches

Methods & Approaches

Research Approaches 17

Contemporary Research onSouth Asian Architecture:Issues and ApproachesADAM HARDY AND ALL

abstractabstractabstractabstractabstract

The aim of PRASADA is to integrate academic research with creativepractice in the arts and architecture of the Indian subcontinent, throughresearch projects and publications, design consultancy work, teachingand postgraduate research programmes. The text that follows isintended to give a flavour of doctoral research currently in progress,and the introduction puts across the issues and approaches that haveemerged in this research and in earlier completed doctorates atPRASADA.


Basic ingredients for a PhD are either new material or a new approach. Tofind new material among the oldest monuments is relatively difficult (forarchitects, if not for archaeologists), as these have been the objects ofacademic interest since the nineteenth century. British scholars at thattime tended to see Indian art as a story of progressive decline anddecadence after the fifth-century Gupta era. However, other periodsthought worthy of study have crept in later through the course of thetwentieth century. Non-Islamic buildings from the fifteenth centuryonwards, which the British had labeled the ‘Islamic period’, were largelyignored until the last twenty years. Folk and contemporary populartraditions, both of which are fertile in South Asia, have fallen more

Adam Hardy is teaching at Welsh Schoolof Architecture, at Cardiff University

Wales, UK. He is the founder ofPRASADA (Practice Research and

Adavancement in South Asian Design andArchitecture). PRASADA is currently

being established at the Welsh School ofArchitecture. PRASADA’s earlier years

were at De Montfort University,Leicester, where it was set up in 1996,

and it is privileged to be one of theresearch groups of the British Academy’s

Society for South Asian Studies


recently under the academic searchlight, along with aburgeoning interest in the historiography of the field– the study of other researcher’s findings, and thetracing of colonialist and postcolonial discourses. Yet,to find new material in South Asia is easier than inEurope, as the whole region is still rich in beautifulhistoric buildings and environments that have neverbeen documented or studied. This is true even of theearlier material, as Ajay Khare has shown in his studyof scarcely known temples of the tenth and eleventhcenturies in West Bengal.1

To find a new approach is not difficult, for architectsat least,- for the simple reason that South Asianarchitecture has been studied by archaeologists,indologists and art historians, but relatively littlefrom an architectural point of view. I would notpretend that there is only one architectural approach,but in the research work done at PRASADA thestaring point has been to search for the designprinciples underlying a form of architecture, deducedprimarily from the evidence of the buildingsthemselves. This amounts to finding an appropriateway of seeing the architecture in question. Drawingsplay an important part in such an analysis, notmerely for descriptive purposes, but for conveyingconceptual and interpretive ideas. They can also bethe actual means of discovery of formal properties.Such a ‘design approach’ to architectural history,

founded on clear visualisation of formal and spatialpatterns, can also be the basis for understanding thetransformations of architectural ideas through thecourse of a tradition.

‘Form’ is a slightly shocking word, not least toarchitects (who feel less guilty about ‘space’), and ifyou analyse form you are liable to be accused offormalism. But meaningful connections can be tracedbetween architecture and other manifestations ofsociety and culture only by starting from a thoroughunderstanding of the actual medium of architecture:otherwise the broader picture will never be more than‘background’. It is also through understanding offormal principles (not, of course, in isolation frommaterials and construction) that we can begin toreconstruct and relive the process of creation thatbrought a particular architecture into being.

If the design principles of an architectural traditioncan be deduced, then they can also be learned andused, and lead to an architecture that draws fromtradition in more profound ways than past revivalsand historicisms. Underlying principles could be usedindependently of traditional forms, but since it is fromthe forms that they can be deduced it seemsnecessary to study the forms themseleves. However,knowing the forms and knowing the principles forputting them together can still lead to mechanical and

Shyam Raya temple,Bishnupur,Bankura


lifeless art, unless there can be life and creativity inthe process of making, wherein the spirit lies as muchas in the conception.

In terms of subject matter, the PRASADA doctoralresearch has fallen largely into the categories ofreligious and domestic architecture.2

Janhwij Sharma’s research on monasteries in Ladakh isof the former category, and attempts throughrepresentative examples to understand a wholetradition and a whole cultural landscape. Templearchitecture has been the mainstay of PRASADA’sresearch projects and architectural commissions,which have provided creative and intellectualstimulus.

PRASADA’s work on traditional domesticarchitecture, a field with vast unstudied areas in SouthAsia, began in 1997 with a study of villagearchitecture in Orissa.3 It is now finding creativeapplication in a study for Ashram HousingAssociation, Birmingham, involving communityconsultation to propose ways of housing designappropriate to Asian communities settled in Britain.The works of Rupa Raje Gupta and Himanish Dasfocus on different aspects of traditional courtyardhouses, one aiming to grasp the whole of a regionaltradition, with its local variations and developmentsthrough time, the other grappling with designprinciples and the creation of an architectural whole.

Sumesh Modi discusses domestic architecture inrelation to the city planning of Champaner. Hisresearch is exploring the whole system of waterharvesting that was developed in that city and itssurroundings, where previous studies of waterarchitecture have concentrated mainly on singlestructures. Modi’s work shares the theme of waterwith Ratish Nanda’s, and both are concerned withIndo-Islamic architecture4 (in which PRASADA’sclaim to fame has been the design of neo-Mughalstreet furniture for Birmingham’s ‘Balti zone’).

Nanda’s research is showing that even a famousbuilding like Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi leaves scopefor research, not so much in terms of formalcomposition as through a conservation architect’sanalysis of the alterations to its fabric over the years.Nanda and Modi, like Sharma, are trained inarchitectural conservation, a concern that further linkstheir three articles. Modi argues elsewhere that thesophisticated water systems of fifteenth-century

Gujarat are unmatched, and to understand them canhave practical benefits today; rather as Das implies inhis work, that traditional design processes and craftskills are relevant not purely for conservationpurposes, but for a culturally-rooted contemporaryarchitecture.

It should be clear that the theme of The Whole iscommon to all the studies glimpsed at here.Conventional advice to PhD students, apart fromexhorting them to find new material or a newapproach, has urged them to limit their scope andfocus. “Don’t try to do too much or you’ll end upgetting lost and saying nothing new” is commonsense and the safest advice to follow. The riskier butpotentially more rewarding search for the wholepicture has been the path that PRASADA hastended to take. There are, of course, many differentnotions of what constitutes the whole picture,leading ultimately to the Universe; but even withinthe confines of architectural history there arecountless wholes that researchers often ignore.Often one fails to understand an architecturaltradition because the focus is on a single time orplace or architect. And if one does not see a whole,how could they design a whole?

Following excerpts from the current doctoral works atPRASADA present the wide variety of issues andapproaches for research.

DocumentDocumentDocumentDocumentDocumentaaaaation of the Buddhisttion of the Buddhisttion of the Buddhisttion of the Buddhisttion of the BuddhistMonasteries of Ladakh - JanhwijMonasteries of Ladakh - JanhwijMonasteries of Ladakh - JanhwijMonasteries of Ladakh - JanhwijMonasteries of Ladakh - JanhwijSharmaSharmaSharmaSharmaSharma

Sandwiched between the Karakoram and the GreatHimalayan ranges, the region of Ladakh (comprisingthe eastern part of the Indian state of Jammu andKashmir) is a narrow valley running west to east, withthe river Indus flowing along its entire length beforegoing north-west into Pakistan. The region isconsidered a high altitude cold desert withphenomenal temperature variations. This factor,together with low precipitation and a unique geologyand terrain, ensures that Ladakh has an extremely lowpopulation density of two persons to a squarekilometre.

Ladakh has been a cradle for Buddhism, which hasflourished there for more than a millennium. Two‘Advancements’, in the 6th and the 9th centuries AD,brought Buddhism to the region, as a result of culturaland political developments in neighbouring parts of


Kashmir and western Tibet. The second advancementfirmly established Buddhism not only as a religion butalso as a way of life, still practised today. Buddhismthrived in Ladakh, and despite attempts by a fewpowerful invaders from the neighbouring kingdoms,the religion continued to flourish, protected largely bythe difficult and relatively inaccessible terrain.

The earliest examples of Buddhist art and architecturesurviving in Ladakh are of the late-tenth and early-eleventh centuries, and are ascribed to Lhotsava Rhin-Chen-bZang-Po (AD 958-1046), a prolific teacher andtranslator of the sacred Buddhist texts from Sanskritto Tibetan. The early Buddhist monasteries of Ladakhwere built mostly on the flat land, adhering to theIndian mandala system of planning, and embellishedby a blend of Kashmiri and Tibetan art. Later, withpolitical instability and a number of invasions, thearchitectural form of the monasteries changed to anew type almost like a fortress. Generally built on hills,such monasteries were tiered in form, the lower tierconsisting largely of the residences of lamas, whilethe upper tier had a concentration of religiousstructures. From the sixteenth century onwards,another type of monastery emerged, composite innature. These monasteries were usually located onsites similar to those of the early monasteries, but thelater ones were much bigger complexes, combined in asingle large structure, generally between three andfive storey high.

The first comprehensive listing of the architecturalheritage of Ladakh was published in 2003 by INTACH(Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage).This listing was built on work done by the architectRomi Khosla5. Among the structures catalogued wereforty-five prominent Buddhist monasteries of varioustypes, in different parts of the region, their currentcondition being recorded, and each allocated agrading according to their importance.

Previous publications on the art of Ladakh – wallpaintings, stucco images, thankga scroll paintings,and the Buddhist iconography portrayed in all ofthese – are numerous in comparison with studies ofthe architecture, of which the only significant one isKhosla’s.5 Khosla has classified the monasteries onthe basis of periods, ‘early’ (10th-13th centuries) and‘late’ (14th century onwards). Part of my research is anattempt to develop ways of classifying thesemonuments that take account of aspects such assiting, planning, architectural forms, and materials andconstruction techniques.

Buddhist monasteries are an ubiquitous part ofLadakh’s culture, their presence underpinning the wayof life of the community. The Buddhist way of life isattested to not only through the presence of thesemonasteries, but also through other structure typesfound throughout the landscape of Ladakh. These are,for instance, chortens (votive stupa-like structures),mane walls (long walls containing stones carved withreligious inscriptions and images), mantrachakras(prayer wheels with mantras inside them) and lhatos(commemorative structures made of prayer flags,stones or horns). All of these occupy strategiclocations at the edge of settlements, on hilltops oralong mountain passes echoing the intrinsicimportance of Buddhism in day to day life. Chortensand mane walls mark the entrance to a village.Mantrachakras are built at important streetintersections, and smaller versions embedded in wallsalong the streets. Often, house entrances are markedwith riksum gombo (deities or chortens placed abovethe doorways) to keep evil spirits at bay, and parapetsare lined with prayer flags. All these religious objectsmanifest the identity of the Buddhist community livingin these areas. The landscape of Ladakh needstherefore to be understood as a Buddhist landscape.

The MenaThe MenaThe MenaThe MenaThe Menavvvvvali ali ali ali ali wadwadwadwadwadaaaaa a a a a at Wt Wt Wt Wt Wai: aai: aai: aai: aai: acourtyard house in Maharashtra -courtyard house in Maharashtra -courtyard house in Maharashtra -courtyard house in Maharashtra -courtyard house in Maharashtra -RRRRRupupupupupa Ra Ra Ra Ra Raje Guptaje Guptaje Guptaje Guptaje Guptaaaaa

As in other parts of the world with a hot climate, thetraditional form for urban dwellings in many regions ofIndia is the courtyard house. In north-western Indiathe form is known as the haveli, whereas inMaharashtra, the region corresponding to the upper

Phadnis wada, built:1768, Menawali, Taluka: wai, dist.satara wallpainting in Rajputana style in the personal quarters of nanPhadnis


Deccan plateau and the coastal Konkan – the Marathi-speaking state that includes Mumbai (Bombay) – thistraditional house form is known as the wada. Manywadas survive from the period 1600 -1850 AD, whenthe house form dominated the urban fabric of theregion, perfectly reflecting the culture and way of lifeof its inhabitants, and accommodating their traditionaljoint family structure. The research is aiming to arriveat a systematic overview of the architecture of thewadas, identifying and explaining the regionalvariations.

Wadas are closely associated with the Marathas, theHindu rulers who wrested power from the previousMuslim sultanates in 1646, when Shivaji captured thefort of Purandhar near Pune. From this time the wadaform received royal patronage and took on a fort-likecharacter. During the eighteenth century the Peshwas,a line of Brahmin prime ministers, became in effect theactual rulers, and consolidated Marahtha power overmuch of northern India. The defensive function ofwadas became less pressing, and more fanciful andornamental forms became possible.

It was one of the Peshwas, Nana Phadnavis, who in1768 built as his residence the Menavli wada,illustrated here, in the town of Wai. The wada is still

inhabited by the Phadnavis family, after fivegenerations. Wai means ‘wedge’, and was so namedbecause it formed a wedge between Desh and Konkanregions of Maharashtra. The town lies on theNarmada, one of the sacred rivers of India, and theMenavli wada is built on its banks, not as anindependent structure, but forming a complex with agroup of temples, all linked to the water below by aseries of stepped ghats (embankments).

The residence is entered through a scaled-downversion of the kind of doorway that had been used inthe earlier fort wadas. The building is well preservedand even contains some intact wall paintings similar instyle to those found in Rajasthan.

Though not an especially imposing structure, thewada has no fewer than six courtyards. Courtyardsprovide light and ventilation, and moderate extremesof temperature. These are also the hub of family life,and the focus of ritual and celebration, especiallyduring weddings and festivals such as Holi andDiwali. Two of the six courtyards here containreceptacles for the sacred tulsi (basil) plant used fordaily worship in the domestic shrine. Being open tothe sky the courtyards need to be drained, and thedrainage system here is remarkable, having open

Phadnis wada,built:1768,Menawali, Taluka:wai, dist.sataraentrance to thewada


joints in the stone paving that allow water to run intodrains that discharge along the ghats.Opening onto the courtyards are covered terraces,used especially during summer evenings and winterafternoons. The enclosed rooms overlooking thecourtyards are equally well ventilated, by means offull-height windows. These have low balustrades, sothat people can look out when sitting on the floor.Neither the courtyards nor the rooms and spacesaround them were intended for fixed functions, butwere adaptable to various uses at different times ofday.

Most of the walls, including the main facades, are ofbrick, with sloping, clay tile roofs. Wood is used forthe floors and the roof structure, for the doors,windows and shutters. Also of wood, and supportingopen halls on the first floor, are fluted columns withcusped arches (in this particular form known as‘Peshwai’ arches after the period in which they werepopular). The rear wall, however, is in dressed stone,with alcoves where oil lamps were lit at night. It risesfrom the stone ghats on a tall stepped plinth. Rangedalong the banks of the Narmada are the stone temples,with their finely carved spires. Viewed from the riverthe whole group merges amidst lush greenery againstthe western sky.

AAAAAquququququaaaaatic Architecture and Urbantic Architecture and Urbantic Architecture and Urbantic Architecture and Urbantic Architecture and UrbanMorphologMorphologMorphologMorphologMorphology ay ay ay ay at Champt Champt Champt Champt Champaner-aner-aner-aner-aner-PPPPPaaaaavvvvvagagagagagadh - Sumesh Modiadh - Sumesh Modiadh - Sumesh Modiadh - Sumesh Modiadh - Sumesh Modi

An impressive water management system wasdeveloped in Champaner-Pavagadh, the late-medievalcapital of greater Gujarat. This included watercatchments at the regional level, distribution of waterto settlements, a system of ground replenishmentwithin the settlements at the local level, and a meansof procuring water from wells and tanks at thedomestic level. The history of the hydraulic system ofChampaner-Pavagadh began with the Khichi Chauhandynasty, a line of Rajputs who came to power in 1297.Champaner-Pavagadh remained their capital until 1484when Sultan Mahmud Begarha captured it and made itthe capital of his kingdom of Greater Gujarat.

The sultan adopted the already established hydraulicsystem and developed it to suit the needs andextravagance of his empire. In its heyday the systemsustained as many as 50,000 people. This waterharvesting system became so efficient during thesultanate times that, apart from its consumption in dayto day chores, excess water was available for

recreational activities, and also used lavishly inindividual houses of the nobility to keep the interiorscool and pleasant. Typical of the sultanate cityplanning and landscaping principles are the late-


fifteenth century residences and pleasure pavilions,briefly illustrated above.

Zar-e-Zamin, is an underground pleasure pavilionwhere interesting manifestation of a water retreat canbe seen. Suction wells connected to airshafts drew inand expelled air through ventilation holes in theexternal walls. The air was passed over waterchannels, reducing its temperature to make thepavilion cool enough for the Sultan and his courtiers.Such structures placed within the royal gardensencouraged social interactions among the royalty,nobility and citizenry.

Water structures were significant morphologicalelements of Gujarati sultanate cities and their gardens.These structures testify to a highly evolved urbaneculture. The concept of water structures knittingtogether the urban fabric at various levels of ahierarchy was lost in later Islamic cities of India, suchas those of the Mughals, even though waterstructures continued to remain important elements ingardens and landscapes.

HumaHumaHumaHumaHumayun’s Tyun’s Tyun’s Tyun’s Tyun’s Tomb: Romb: Romb: Romb: Romb: Restoring theestoring theestoring theestoring theestoring theEmperor’s Gardens - REmperor’s Gardens - REmperor’s Gardens - REmperor’s Gardens - REmperor’s Gardens - Raaaaatish Nandtish Nandtish Nandtish Nandtish Nandaaaaa

The Mughal emperors’ greatest contributions tolandscape were the formal gardens laid out across theIndian subcontinent. In this, they followed a traditioninitiated by their ancestor Timur (Tamerlane). Babur,who became the first Mughal emperor in 1562, builtmany gardens, where he planned his militarycampaigns, held public audiences, wrote his memoirs,composed poetry, entertained and revelled.

Nasir ud din Muhammad Humayun (1508-1556), thesecond of the Great Mughal emperors, known as asensitive, kind and intelligent man, was deeplyinterested in astrology. The emperor’s garden-tomb inDelhi is the first of the grand dynastic mausoleumsthat presaged the flowering of Mughal architecture inIndia, and set a direct precedent for the even morefamous Taj Mahal at Agra.

Housing over a hundred Mughal family graves, thetomb was built in the 1560’s under the supervision ofa Persian ‘architect’, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, by theemperor’s grieving widow, and with the patronage ofAkbar, his son and successor. Standing on the banksof the Yamuna, adjacent to what is now the capitalNew Delhi, the tomb complex occupies thirty acres ofland. The tomb lies at the centre with six metre high,arcaded walls enclosing it on three sides. It is enteredthrough majestic gateways on the west and the south.The whole scheme is laid out as the classical Char-Bagh (literally ‘Four- fold Gardens’), divided intoquarters by wide pathways, each quadrant furthersubdivided by minor paths into eight plots. Along themiddle of each path runs a water-channel, and pools –rectangular, octagonal or foliated – emphasize theintersections. A large pool interrupts each of the fourmain paths midway with a fountain at its centre.A tomb-garden of this kind represented the ancientideal of the paradise garden. The large squareenclosure, divided with geometric precision,symbolised the ordered universe; in the centre, thetomb itself rose above the four rivers of the Koranicparadise, represented by water-channels made to flowout from beneath the tomb.

While recommending World Heritage status to themausoleum in 1992, the International Council onMonuments and Sites (ICOMOS) expert report notedthe state of neglect of the gardens and recommendedurgent attention. The project became the first large-scale garden restoration project in India, as well asthe first privately funded project at a nationallyprotected monument, encompassing a variety ofdisciplines including archaeological excavation,conservation science, landscape design andhydraulic engineering.

Conservation works, commenced in 2001, werepreceded by two years of excavations and archivalresearch, which included the assembly of acontinuous record of photographs taken from 1849onwards. This research brought to light manyinappropriate changes that had been made since that

A PleasurePavilions


Notes and References1 Ajay Khare, Temple Architecture of Bengal,

9th-16th centuries, PhD thesis, De Montfort

Univesity, 2004. Also Temple Architecture of

Eastern India (2005, Shubhi Publications,

Gurgaon).2 Ashutosh Sohoni, Temple architecture of the

Marathas in Maharashtra, PhD thesis 1998;

Meera Dass , Udayagiri, a Sacred Hill: its

Architecture, Sculpture and Landscape, PhD

thesis 2001; Deepanjana Danda, Maharashtra

and the Cross-Fertilisation of Style of

Brahmanical Cave Temples in India, PhD thesis

2002, all De Montfort University; Ajay Khare

(see note 1). See also Meera Dass and

Michael Willis,2003, “The Lion Capital from

Udayagiri and the Antiquity of Sun Worship in

Central India”, South Asian Studies, 18, 25-46.3 Adam Hardy,1999, ‘Birabalabahdrapur: a

Brahmin Village in Orissa’, South Asian

Studies 14 , 67-84. Completed doctorate:

Shikha Jain, The Havelis of Rajasthan: Form

and Identity, PhD thesis, De Montfort

University, 2002; see also her

Havelis: A Living Tradition of Rajasthan

(2004, Shubhi Publications, Gurgaon).4 Cf. also Jyoti Sharma, Urban

Transformations through colonial intervention -

A case study of Shahjahanabad / Old Delhi,

PhD thesis, De Montfort University, 2005.5 Khosla, Romi 1979: “Buddhist Monasteries

of the Western Himalaya“, Ratna Pustak

Bhandar, Kathmandu, Nepal

time. For example, in 1860 (three years after the‘Mutiny’, and the arrest of the last Mughal king, whohad hidden at Humayun’s Tomb), the landscape wasmade more British in style, with roundabouts forcarriages! Much of what seemed until recently tobelong to the original design proved to have been theresult of the Viceroy Lord Curzon’s early-twentiethcentury reinstatement of a Mughal layout. In 1916, aplanting scheme emphasised the axis with unsuitabletrees such as palms. After independence and partitionthe garden became a refugee camp for five years.More inept tree-planting schemes followed, andvarious unsuccessful attempts were made to flowwater again.

Restoration of water flow in the channels and poolswas a major component of the recent project. A

comprehensive rainwater harvesting system wasreinstated: historic wells were de-silted, and 128ground water recharge pits were introduced.Excavations revealed that water was originally liftedfrom wells and drained into the river. Many lateralterations to the slope of the channels led toinconsistent direction of flow. Much of the masonrybedding had been replaced by concrete. Major repairswere required for water to flow once again in the 2200metres of channels: partial dismantling of thechannels, provision of a lime concrete base and wallsurface of brick tiles in lime mortar, and application ofa layer of traditional fruit extracts and gur (molasses).The latter served as a waterproofing, covered by afurther layer of lime-compatible waterproofing, a layerof lime plaster, and a final layer of almost pure lime.Not all parts of the system were restored for flowingwater, in keeping with a conservation philosophybased on minimum intervention and with the basicneed for water circulation.

The project culminated with flowing water restored tothe garden and fountains springing to life after morethan four centuries. With the newly planted lemon,pomegranate, hibiscus, motia and mogra already inbloom, the birds chirping; Emperor Humayun’smausoleum once again stands amidst a paradise.¶

Humayun’s Tomb

Building Conservation 25

Restoration of the SanthomeCathedralRAVI GUNDU RAO & ASSOCIATES

AbstractAbstractAbstractAbstractAbstract

The history of Santhome and Mylapore is well known and is a part of thegreat past of the sub-continent. The existence of Mylapore and Santhomewas recorded by Ptolemy’s maps of 140 AD, ‘Tevaram hymns’ of 7thcentury AD by poet ‘Thirugnana Sambhandar’ written at ‘Mayilai’, aswell as the visiting foreign travellers of the past. Although earliestrecords start from 2nd century AD, archaeological findings suggest thatMylapore was a very historical site and a well-populated settlement.There is evidence of a major 2nd century Jain settlement in this area asseen in excavated statues of Jain Tirthankars (monks). This gives aglimpse of the rich history of the place. These facts provide a broadindication of the archaeological significance of the area.

In June 2003, the comprehensive restoration work was awarded to RaviGundu Rao and Associates. Larsen and Toubro were awarded the role ofthe client engineer for the said work. The methodology and the scientifictechniques used in restoration for this historic building form the body ofthis article. The restoration work followed minimal intervention. Therenovation works in the Santhome Cathedral like the new marbleflooring, cladding, lighting, and many other things were done by localexperts. The underground prayer hall was constructed below the oldchurch to allow larger numbers of devotees to pray at the tomb of theSaint directly as against the small space that existed before. This workwas carefully planned by renowned structural engineer Mr.Alex Jacobwhile the actual execution of the same was done by the leadingonstruction company of India, Larsen & Toubro Limited.

Ravi Gundu Rao & Associates, Mysore isan organization providing heritage

building conservation services in India.The organization is formed in the

leadership of Ravi Gundu Rao by a groupof conservation architects and engineers,

earlier working with M/s AssociatedCement Companies under the name of

Architectural Conservation Cell

26 Building Conservation

HistoryHistoryHistoryHistoryHistory

The discovery of ancient stone inscriptions in Tamil,Sanskrit and Portuguese establish the long history ofthe area, which has seen Chola, Jain, Vijayanagara,Portuguese and British influences over 2000 years.The crypt of the Apostle in the Cathedral is the mostprecious part of the faith in this part of the world.However, the exact date of construction of the oldestChurch at Santhome is unclear. Santhome, known toArabs in the 9th century as ‘Betuma’ (the town ofThomas) is known to have had a church and tombover the buried site of St. Thomas. Marco Polo in 13th

century recounts “The Nestorian Chapel of the Tombof St. Thomas and Nestorian monastery atopSt.Thomas Mound”. It is also the Church whereVasco-Da-Gama and St. Xavier prayed during theirvisit in the 16th century. The ancient stone image of St.Thomas in Mylapore in 1729 (mentioned in the letterfrom the 7th bishop of Mylapore to the bishop ofVerapoly) is amongst the prized archaeologicaldiscoveries of the site. From the records it is learnt ofa certain Portuguese devotee who added a Roman-Doric pillared South portico to an existing Church. Itis reliably recorded that the old Church was pulleddown in 1892 and a new and larger Church built onthe same site but in Gothic style with an awesomespire and sloping roof on timber trusses.

From the testimony of 7th Sessanian – Pahlaviinscription found in Malabar and Mylapore theremust have been rather numerous colonies of PersianChristians (Nestorian Jesuits) in South India muchbefore the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th

century. Historian Gibbon says that even in 6th

century AD, “The pepper coast of Malabar and theisles of the ocean, Socatra and Ceylon were peopledwith an increasing magnitude of Christians and theBishop and clergy of these sequestered regionsderived their ordination from the Catholics ofBabylon”. The martyrdom of St.Thomas Didymus, theapostle of Jesus Christ, at the site of the Church andthe burial of his holy remains in the near 2000 year oldcrypt is the single most significant aspect of historyof Santhome area.

The consecrated new Cathedral, designed by Capt.Power in 1896 and Rt. Rev. Dan Henriques de Silva,the first Bishop of the diocese of Mylapore, has seenover a century of social, economic and religiousdevelopments in South India. The Santhome CathedralBasilica has a cross shaped plan with the holy cryptand the remains of the Apostle St.Thomas at thecentre. The spire with a splendid belfry raised at aheight of 155 ft in the air is a landmark in Chennai’sskyline. The interior of the Church is spacious withexquisite stained glass windows in East, North andSouth lancet windows. The nave has ancient holypaintings on canvas, depicting the legendary log ofwood that St. Thomas dragged on to the shore tobuild a Church and that of St. Francis Xavier drivingaway his enemies. Besides the Bishop’s woodenthrone from the original Church, the lance head thatkilled St. Thomas and his precious bone areensconced and preserved to the date.

Site Inspection and RSite Inspection and RSite Inspection and RSite Inspection and RSite Inspection and RestorestorestorestorestoraaaaationtiontiontiontionStrStrStrStrStraaaaategtegtegtegtegyyyyy

The Cathedral Basilica built in 1896 is a robust andpleasing example of Gothic architecture. Over thecentury, the Basilica has been repaired over a numberof occasions. Although being in the close vicinity ofthe sea, the ageing of the cathedral was negligiblewith no outward visages of any specific problem. Butthe interiors had a different story to tell. Consideringthe tremendous historical significance of the holycathedral, the Santhome Cathedral authorities invitedMysore based conservationists Ravi Gundu Rao andAssociates - specialists in conservation of heritagebuildings to make a scientific study and technicalrestoration proposal in July 2002.

View of Cathedral after restoration


The team of specialists including qualifiedconservation experts, engineers and architects carriedout the inspection of the Cathedral for a period of 15days. Measurements were taken to prepare outlinedrawings to aid site inspection and recordedobservations. Gothic architectural edifice, replete withtowering spire stands on sturdy masonry with archedopenings. A closer inspection revealed the chronicissues somehow gone unobserved over the years. Forinstance, the external plaster albeit with a modernpaint looked convincing, however closer inspectionshowed that the entire plaster (leaving some portionof original lime plaster in the render untouched) wasre-done sometime in early 1940-50’s with a lime-cement-composite mortar. Laboratory investigationproved the same although the year of interventioncould not be ascertained.

On the exterior, the reconnaissance survey showeddamages to the priceless stained glass windows in thealtar and the aisles, flaking paint and efflorescence,external composite mortar, ageing of wood on thedistressed windows, unimpressive modern finishes tothe wood in doors and windows and missing colouredglasses in windows. Samples of existing original aswell as the subsequently repaired composite mortarwere taken and the same were tested in materialscience laboratory to confirm the visual observations.The chemical analysis of the mortar samples,microscopy and X-Ray diffraction were done forfurther reference. In the interiors it showed badlydecaying plaster in and around the openings and theends of the vaulted zinc ribs joining the walls. Thefully panelled timber ceiling despite the misleading oilpaint, showed signs of recurring dampness caused bythe leakage in the Mangalore tiled roof over the timbertrusses. More concerning was the use ofincompatible modern materials like cement in repairswhich had eroded the historical ambience of theChurch. The precious stained glass needed urgentrestoration too.

The original designs, materials, and finishing allneeded preservation. It was clear that the maintenanceof the roof to keep the building dry was the main issuestructurally. The rest of the problems were related tothe primary issue of leakage from the roof. Detailedinspection of the roof structure was done by removingsome tiles and entering the spaces in between thetimber trusses and the curved Gothic ceiling. Thecondition of the timber especially the members thatwere embedded in masonry was observed andrecorded. It became apparent that once the roof

leakage is kept under control the remaining issueswere much easier to come to terms with.

The scientific study elaborated the building elements,physical problems and their causes, documented thesame and proposed the minimum interventionconservation program that would help conserve themonument according to the best internationalstandards. Use of original materials, methods andskills were foremost in arriving at the proposals,including long term maintenance measures.

Pitched Roof WorksPitched Roof WorksPitched Roof WorksPitched Roof WorksPitched Roof Works

The roof was the principal cause of the deterioratingstate of the building. Broken Mangalore tiles anddilapidated gutters lead the rain water straight into thebuilding, thus causing immense damage to thestructural fabric of the building. Lack of proper accessto the roof was also one of the reasons of neglect. Itwas an urgent need to arrest this water entry into thebuilding.

The Mangalore tiles were removed carefully, sortedout for further use and stacked. The teak woodreepers were also removed and stacked for reuse. Thetimber structure was opened up for further inspectionof the teak wood members. As a precautionarymeasure against the unseasonal rains, the roof wasopened up in parts, especially the long roofs like naveand altar. And after the day’s work, the open area ofthe roof was completely covered with tarpaulin sheetson day to day basis. The timber truss is a veryinteresting element with two king posts, two mild steelcross tie rods and interconnecting horizontal ties ofteak wood. The reepers resting on the principal rafterstake the Mangalore tiles. The curved ceiling belowformed a major attraction, giving it a beautiful shape.The space between the roof and the ceiling (attic) wasbarely enough for a man to stand straight. Thus it wasa painstaking effort by the restoration team to enter,manoeuvre and work inside these spaces with thecurved floor below and triangular shape on top, all ata height of more than 12 metres from the ground level.The broken and damaged Mangalore tiles werestacked separately for disposal and the reusable tileswere cleaned with soft brushes and non-ionicsolvents. Almost 50 percent of the tiles turned out tobe non-usable due to aging and the harsh coastalenvironment in this part of the country.

The perennial problem of severe water ingress fromthe roof into the building needed a lasting solution. A


reversible membrane was required as a protectivebarrier between the environment and the valuable roofstructure. Aluminium, by nature is free from corrosion,is very light in weight and is also a reversible material.Thus aluminium sheeting was the best choice to givethe roof, the required longevity with negligibleincrease in dead load of the roof. The teakwoodreepers ready with all wood preservation treatments,were fixed directly on the aluminium sheeting withdesired levels and alignment so as to take theMangalore tiles. Almost 70 per cent of the original

reepers were treated and then recycled back onto theroof. The reepers were also extended into the wall by10 to 15 cms so as to keep the extra length ofMangalore tiles at the ends. Aluminium flash strip wasstuck onto the screws and nails in the entire area.Thus the aluminium membrane was sealed completelyfrom rainwater ingress into the area below. Doors werealso provided in the aluminium sheeting for accessonto the roof for maintenance related works. Asshown in the roof plan, almost 50 per cent of the tileswere recycled and remaining 50 per cent tiles of samebrand and quality were sourced from Kerala. The ridgetiles were sealed with silicone sealants and the walljunctions were sealed with brick-lime concrete“vattas”. Thus the most challenging work of roofrestoration was completed just in time before themonsoon.

RRRRRoof Elements - RCC Roof Elements - RCC Roof Elements - RCC Roof Elements - RCC Roof Elements - RCC Repepepepepairs andairs andairs andairs andairs andGuttersGuttersGuttersGuttersGutters

Ornamental RCC grills and elements were a lateraddition into the building during the major restorationprogramme which could have happened in the 1940’sor 1950’s. The same were showing signs of aging andreinforcement corrosion was rampant especially on thetop of the grills. The RCC grills were patch repairedusing conventional anti corrosive treatments andpolymer based mortars. The entire gutter area was re-plastered using waterproof mortar. Existing system forrain water drainage consisted of high quality asbestoscement pipes. Fifty per cent of the pipes were doingwell functionally and were retained. Only routinemaintenance like clamping, joint filling etc was donefor most of the pipes in Sacristy and Meditation halls.The pipes in the nave area were almost completelyreplaced and in the altar area only 50 per cent of thereplacement was done. A few places near the drain

A view of the roof top of the church for the ball tower

The neglected state of the Mangalore tiled roof

The Mangalore tiles being removed to expose the timber structure


mouths were affected with severe vegetation growth.These were treated and removed completely.

Traditional Plaster WorksTraditional Plaster WorksTraditional Plaster WorksTraditional Plaster WorksTraditional Plaster Works

The water from the roof was playing havoc in theinteriors of the Church. In addition to the seepageproblems, the incompatible and non-breathablemortars used in earlier repairs, were harming thebuilding. Moisture trapped inside the 1 metre thickwalls was virtually eating away the structural fabric ofthe building, thus weakening the load bearingstructure.

The plaster in the attic was incessantly damp anddeteriorated. Efflorescence was visible in the walls ofthe attic. The external plaster was a later addition,done during the 40’s or the 50’s. As observed andproven in the various tests, the external plaster was ahigh quality composite mortar done with great care.But these composite mortars are brittle due to thepresence of cement and hence the brittle crackingpattern visible in the visuals. Migration of salts to thesurface at a few places pointed towards theenvironmental factors and also probable use ofslightly salty sand or water in plastering. The originallime plaster existed in 90 percent of the interior walls,

except for quite a few hard mortar patches, which musthave been done during the earlier repairs. During theinvestigation of the exterior walls, original lime mortarplaster was found on the external walls at a few spots.The clients as well as consultants mutually decided oncomplete re-plastering of the interiors except theoriginal jambs and mouldings, which were in excellentcondition. For the exteriors, it was decided to re-plaster the complete front elevation and the elevationof the North Cross Aisle.

A feebly hydraulic kankar lime was sourced, whichwas basically from South Andhra. After testing the

An internal viewof the uniquetimber structureof the roof

The long andsturdy roof

structure and thecurved timber

ceiling (attic floor)

The distressed state of the interior wall plasters


The cracking plasterand efflorescence inthe exteriors

The plan, section andelevation of the decorativewindow jambs

A close view of artmouldings under

restoration with limemortar

The decorative jambs during and after restoration


particular lime on field for reactivity and in laboratoryfor purity, it was decided to use the said lime for limeplaster work. Sand selected was sparsely coarse riversand, generally free from silts and clays. A completelime mortar manufacturing plant was setup in thechurch complex. Lime mortar was prepared first withvarious permutations and combinations of grain sizes,proportioning of sand, proportioning of organicadditives and pozzolana, etc. Trial plaster patches ofvarious mix designs were made and kept for 1 monthunder observation. The selection of the best mix wasdone based on past experience and on theperformance of the samples for the required plasterthickness. The beauty of lime mortar is that unlikecement mortar, lime mortars made with different typesof available limes in India, give a lot of variation inproperties like setting time, strength, plasticity, waterretention etc. Hence it becomes necessary toinvestigate the type of lime correctly and then decidethe proportioning and mixes. Mortar preparation wasstarted on a large scale to facilitate the massive plasterwork involved.

Art MouldingsArt MouldingsArt MouldingsArt MouldingsArt Mouldings

After the completion of the roof in all respects, theinterior plastering was taken up first during the monthof December 2004. Special tools and templates weremade for the art mouldings and cornices. Each andevery heritage building has its own features that arerare and distinct. More than 70 templates and toolswere made especially for the different varieties of art

mouldings and cornices in the building. A specialfeature of the art mouldings in this building was thatthey were made in lime mortar in many layers,irrespective of the thickness. It was found that somemouldings in the jambs of arches were even as thickas 20 cms built purely in lime mortar, without anyanchors or reinforcement. This property is not presentin cement mortar and this is considered an exceptionalversatility in lime mortar.

Another interesting fact noted about the cornices wasthat they were not anchored into the wall with bricks(as per usual practice) but with brick pieces resting onwooden nails. The technique was not very great,because the cornice was loosely held and there was aweak bond between the wall and the cornices. Thuswhen the plaster was being removed, the entirecornice fell down completely. Those cornices werereconstructed by making grooves into the wall andusing hand made bricks to match the original profile ofthe cornice. Like the cornices, the round pilasters onthe walls were also weakly bonded with the wallbecause they were constructed by supporting brickson wooden nails. This technology seems to be afeature of this particular building construction. Due tothe weak bond with the wall, one of the pilasters in theNorth Cross Aisle, actually gave away right from thecentre and fell off completely. As is always the case,this was an area of work not envisaged and an ‘in situ’strengthening technique was devised. The pilasterswere strengthened by tying coir ropes over layers oflime mortar with wooden nails fixed into the walls.

The artmouldings,jambs andcornices before,during and afterrestoration


InteriorsInteriorsInteriorsInteriorsInteriors

The interior finishes of the Church building forvarious parts like doors, windows, plaster, painting,white washing etc except the flooring and claddingwas undertaken. The marble flooring in the entireChurch, marble cladding in nave and the aisles, marblerailing in the altar, granite cladding in the passages,granite paving, light poles etc were undertaken byvarious other agencies and parishers of the Cathedral.The work was carried out smoothly with propercoordination between the various agencies. The endresult was a wonderful combination of vibrantinteriors and dazzling exteriors. The interior walls ofthe Cathedral were restored completely with limeplaster, barring a few original lime plaster features,which were in excellent condition. Thus the interiorshad a soft mortar at all the places on the walls. It wasdecided to have traditional lime wash finish for the

walls. High quality shell lime was brought andconverted to lime wash fluid. The process involvedslow and gradual hydration of lime and filteringthrough various types of linen. A few organicadditives and glues were added to make it moredurable and slightly hydrophobic in nature.

ExteriorsExteriorsExteriorsExteriorsExteriors

The existing exterior wall plaster was a hard compositemortar, which was laboratory tested at the ACC-RCDin Mumbai. Only 10 per cent re-plastering was donewith soft mortars and 90 per cent plaster in theexteriors was hard mortar. The original paint system inthe building was cement based paint and was flakingdue to various environmental factors andefflorescence. Considering all the above factors, itwas decided to use breathable 100 percent acrylicpaint of Asian Paints. The entire hard wall surface wascleaned well with water and hard brushes and“patras” so as to remove the loosely held paintlayers. After thorough cleaning, the paint was appliedas per manufacturer’s specifications.

A view of the interiors of the Cathedral from the Choir areabefore restoration

A view of the interiors of the Cathedral from the Choir areaafter restoration

A view of the interiors of the Altar area before restoration

A view of the interiors of the Altar area after restoration


RRRRRestorestorestorestorestoraaaaation works of Santhometion works of Santhometion works of Santhometion works of Santhometion works of SanthomeCaCaCaCaCathedrthedrthedrthedrthedral Basilical Basilical Basilical Basilical Basilica: Maintenancea: Maintenancea: Maintenancea: Maintenancea: MaintenanceScheduleScheduleScheduleScheduleSchedule

Considering the significance of this monument andthe massive efforts of restoration work it became anecessity to maintain the building in a scientificmanner and with a good amount of vigilance.Following were some of the basic guidelines to beunderstood and implemented:• The building roof, especially the Mangalore tiles,

the gutters and the flat terraces to be inspectedthoroughly once in three months, but in fortnightlyintervals before, during and after the monsoons. Itwas advisable to do rain water system checks bypouring water into the mouth of the gutters.

• Under no circumstances, walking over the roof tilesto be allowed. Walking over the roof tiles was agreat temptation especially during the festivallighting of the Cathedral.

• The attic area to be inspected and cleaned withvacuum cleaners once in a year. Inspection of all thetimber members to be done for problems like watermarks, cracks, termites etc.

• The doors leading to the attic area to be closedcorrectly and covered with Mangalore tiles,whenever used for cleaning or electricalmaintenance etc.

• Cleaning of the bell tower area to be done onmonthly basis. Inspection to be done for cracks inthe walls due to vibrations because of the bellusage.

• Windows in the choir, entrance lobby and upperwindows in the Nave to be kept closed during themonsoon. These windows if kept open during thedry season, the shutters to be locked with anchorsprovided. The windows if kept closed, the shuttersto be locked with clamps provided.

• The Choir area to be cleaned on weekly basis.• The doors/ windows to be checked for smooth

functioning and fixtures, fittings, glass breakage etconce in three months. It is advisable to clean thedoor windows once in three months.

• The stained glass and the window frames to becleaned once in a month with a clean cloth verygently, with precaution to prevent any kind ofdamage to glass. The toughened glass and thewindow frames to be cleaned once in three months.

A view of the North elevation before restoration

A view of the North elevation after restoration

View of Altar area in lights

View of Nave area in lights


• All plaster and paint on walls to be inspected oncein three months for problems like cracking, peeling,flaking, dampness, moisture ingress, watermarks etc.Cleaning the walls with vacuum cleaners wasadvisable once in three months, especially theelements like cornices, capitals, jambs, artmouldings, art work etc. Else this cleaning was to bedone with a clean cloth manually.

• The artefacts and wall paintings to be cleaned withclean cloth once in a month.

• The ceiling to be cleaned and inspected closelyonce in three months. It was advisable to useportable aluminium ladders for the purpose ofmaintenance at great heights.¶


Gibbon, Edward, 1993, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,

Vol. III, Modern Library Edition, New York.

Ravi Gundu Rao and Associates. 2004. Restoration works of

Santhome Cathedral. A report prepared by M/S Ravi Gundu Rao and

Associates, Mysore

Zaleski, L.M., 1912 The Apostle St. Thomas in India: History,

Tradition and Legend, Mangalore

View of Cross Aisle ceiling in lights

View of Cross Aisle area in lights

Urban Planning 35

Design Interventions in theUrban Areas of Jharkhand :Urban TransformationsAJAY KHARE


With the newly constituted states in India now planning their cities, thisphase in Indian architecture could well become a turning point ifperceived with a dynamic vision and an open and constructiveapproach. Some steel townships like the planned city of Tata Nagarform a backdrop for the newly declared state of Jharkhand and therelies an opportunity to develop the towns that fulfill public aspirations.And these are very simple aspirations- clean environs, adequateinfrastructure governed by functional planning norms and creativeurban and architectural design that provide a decent basis for humanexistence. The state has already taken the initiative and nowprofessionals have to deliver their best to nurture the cities ofJharkhand as models of urban planning and urban design. The paperproposes the approach of Urban Transformation for the smaller towns ofJharkhand. It also discusses the need for changes in the organisational,financial, legal and technical spheres of urban development activity. .


The state of Jharkhand has 139 urban areas, out of which 42 towns of10,000 or more population are proposed to have their development plansprepared in the near future. There are four other bigger towns namelyBokaro, Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur which have already

Ajay Khare, Headof Department,Department of Architecture,

BIT (Birla Institute of Technology),Mesra, Ranchi

36 Urban Planning

experienced some kind of planning process as parts ofBihar state. The Jharkhand state in the last few yearshas experienced around 20 percent rate of growth ofurbanisation and it is clear that urban areas ofJharkhand are going to face tremendous pressure inthe coming years. Presently only 21percentpopulation lives in towns. The aspirations that goalong with the new state and hope for a better life willmotivate a large part of rural population to migrateinto urban areas. The sheer growth of urbanpopulation will force us to restructure the poorly builtcities of the region.

For the first time in the history of this region, we areable to perceive an enormous quantum leap in urbangrowth; a perception that should prompt us to re-adjust the scenery we have inherited. Intelligentlydone, this could lead to staggering geo-politicalimplications in the state. Consider, for instance theleverage the United States gets from an urbanstructure which spans a continent and connects twooceans and similarly the advantage with India havingan urban structure spanning two seas. What isproposed here for the Jharkhand state is an urbanstructure spanning across the state instead of all bigtowns on one side as they are at present. Here theexample of central Uttar Pradesh with its major townsof Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad forming an urbansystem of manageable size towns within 200 kms isworth examining.1 We need to identify the growthcentres of north and west parts of Jharkhand to createa balanced urban system.

Urban TUrban TUrban TUrban TUrban Trrrrransformaansformaansformaansformaansformationtiontiontiontion

Coming from the regional scale to town scale, I havetried to advocate a mode of urban growth which mayprove suitable for the state of Jharkhand. Two of themost prominent modes of urban growth are growth byextension, characterised by the urbanisation of openareas around a town, and growth by substitution,involving the demolition of existing urban elements.The third process, the growth by additivetransformation, in which an original nucleus istransformed by a sedimentary and incremental processof addition of new parts that may prove to be mostsuitable for growth of small and medium size towns ofJharkhand.

Additive transformation2 is a mechanism of growthand change which has many advantages over othermodes of urban growth due to followingcharacteristics:

• In fact, urban transformation is gradualincorporation of parts into an existing core implyingthe use of a pre-existing urban structure, and bydoing so, extending the likelihood of this being inuse for a prolonged period.

• Being based on the retention of what already exists,additive transformation is a form of developmentcharacterized by its low cost, both in social andmaterial terms. It doesn’t necessitate thecompulsion of migration, required in other forms ofurban renewal but maintains some kind ofcontinuity in the normal rhythm of life of the area.The material costs are relatively low since extensiveuse is made of existing facilities, elements andavailable energy and labour.

• Because it is a sedimentary process, additivetransformation ensures a sense of continuity in theconstruction of the town, and a sense of place inboth historical and spatial terms. In historical termsbecause it is in this way that the city builds uponitself and buildings become repositories ofsuccessive interventions and in spatial termsbecause a true complexity and a meaningful varietyarise from the gradual accumulation of elementswhich confirm, define and reinforce urban space.This sense of continuity is further reinforced by theintelligence of successive generations, whichproduces a socially relevant architecture, elaboratedwith the concurrence of many people.

The present day approach to development is verydifferent than above, when “society squanders itsresources as though permanent abundance were noless than the obligation of history.” 3

Areas of Interventions inAreas of Interventions inAreas of Interventions inAreas of Interventions inAreas of Interventions inJharkhandJharkhandJharkhandJharkhandJharkhand

Large Towns: All four large towns of Jharkhand sufferfrom a lack of a cohesive urban structure. The urbanpattern is fragmented and dispersed in the housingzones of various private and public sectororganisations, while being over-concentrated on amegascale in the centres of these towns. Publicbuildings are often isolated from the urban fabric andcommercial buildings assume a bigger status which issemantically questionable.4 Such town centres owingto their monolithic and introverted nature and theircontrol over urban functions are an unbearableobstruction to the development of civil life.

To recreate a sense of place, location and referentialorder through a further development of their plansinto a denser, more cohesive and better-defined

Urban Planning 37

formation is an ambitious project that must beattempted. A re-urbanization of these towns wouldseek to be unifying while allowing for diversity toensure a positive urban development. It would involvegradual reappropriation of buildings and vacant land,so that a plan that reflects the needs and urbanconsciousness of the inhabitants may take shape.Perhaps it would be ideal to set up a general plan as abasis of reference, coordinating the elements of thetowns, its implementation being left to occur as anaction of direct residents’ control.

Smaller TownsSmaller TownsSmaller TownsSmaller TownsSmaller Towns

The Jharkhand Government has initiated a process ofpreparation of development plans for 42 townsthrough different organisations or professionals. ButIt seems without specifying an urban developmentpolicy for the state of Jharkhand, the proposed plansmay moot very divergent views or may bring forward aplan for immediate application. The complex urbandevelopment problems posed by sick and fragmentedcities cannot be dealt with by hasty, one dimensional,rationalistic proposals designed for immediateapplication. As the forces that form the city are notpurely designed related, reforms are needed inorganisational, financial, legal and technical spheres:1. The prevailing bye-laws and concepts such as FAR

which more often than not, inhibit good creativeurban design, while being unable to preventabsolute horrors from being built, should bescrapped. They should be replaced by conventions(where an intact building culture exists, such asfound in the walled towns of Rajasthan - Jaisalmer,Jaipur, etc. and conventional building methods ofTamilnadu and Kerala). And they should bereplaced by the use of design briefs for specificareas, achieving technical objectives (light,ventilation, services and access) while allowinggreater scope for interpretation and enablingrehabilitation and modification.

2. In Jharkhand towns the urban development shouldideally be attempted to produce densities highenough to support an educational system and atransport system, yet low enough for each family tokeep a kitchen garden and cattle. In fact ifresidential densities can be brought down to about50 households per hectare, it becomes feasible todispense with central sewage systems and recyclewaste matter to considerable advantage: cookinggas, fertiliser, etc.5 Now if we look at all thefashionable concerns of environmentalists today-balanced ecosystems, recycling of waste products,appropriate life-styles, indigenous technology- wefind that the people of Jharkhand already have it all.What we need to provide them is the ‘urban

38 Urban Planning

context’ in which these marvellously inventivesolutions are viable.

3. Transformation carried out should be functional aswell as aesthetic and spatial. The most urgentnecessity in creating more convivial cities is therepeal of monofunctional zoning plans. Alldevelopment above a certain size should berequired to include some mix of uses, so that travelbetween different activities can be reduced, andworking and living can resonate together again.

4. An inversion of power pyramid in the decision-making process is necessary. Bureaucrats areimmobile, and politicians rarely willing to offendvested interests. Therefore, the participation ofpeople in managing their own environments is notmerely possible but imperative. A kind of creativeanarchy at the small scale is what is called for. Hereit is necessary to remind that not many of these 42towns of Jharkhand has their urban local bodyhence no public representatives for urban affairs.

5. In the changed circumstances in Jharkhand,individuals and communities are determined toregain control of their habitat, necessitating adrastic change in the role of the urban designer.

The transformation of the professional is called for.The professional must be the interpreter, facilitator,designer and constructor when working for an existingcommunity, or a group intending to become one. Theparticipative process and the designs that emergehave much to teach us about the creation of lessalienating cities. The urban designer must change,from being an expert to being an enabler, assistingpeople and neighbourhoods identify and solve theirproblems. The professional’s role is thus extendedbeyond the physical design to involvement in theeconomic, social and organizational framework withinwhich development takes place, requiring new toolsand skills which are not generally taught inarchitecture and planning schools. This calls for a

Notes and References1 Ministry of Urban Development,

1987.“Urbanisation: An overview,” in

Interim Report of National Commission on

Urbanisation, Govt of India, New Delhi2 Rodrigo Perez de Arce, 1978. Urban

Transformations,” Architectural Design, 4/

3 Segal, R 1974. America’s Receding Future,

Pelican.4 Main square of the Ranchi town is known

after a shopping outlet – Firayalal Chowk

and most important commercial spine is

called Main road which hardly have any

public functions.

change of attitude from the elitist image of thedesigner as team leader to that of mediator and activeparticipant in a team.6

Urban transformation is a process and a tool ofintervention which should become a commonly usedurban design method to attain historical and spatialquality for urban places. In all transformations, theirpossible range is restricted by the culture in whichthey occur and the morphology of the urban context.The circumstantial conditions in the transformationprocess spring from the lack of required facilities in agiven town or neighbourhood, from the balance ofeconomic and political power within a society, fromthe coincidence of ideas and from fortuitous or chanceevents.

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusion

Today, the changed scenario of Jharkhand demandingthe rectification of unsatisfactory environments,combined with economic imperatives, new urbandesign skills, and the will of users to make mattersbetter themselves, could lead to changes that are bothnecessary and possible. The urban planning approachshould be that of a generalist who speculates on howthe pieces can fit together in more advantageous way.To do this in the context of the Jharkhand the planner/architect/designer must have the courage to face thechallenges after identifying them. Change is thephysical expression of a society’s hopes andintentions and a means of using and developinghuman and architectural potential. This will give theurban environments of Jharkhand both temporal depthand associative perspective. A large and sprawlingurban agglomeration does not by itself constitute acity. If we wish to see the things we desire and love ina great city, we can and should restore the attributeswhich determine how it is perceived and enjoyed bypeople.¶

5 Correa, Charles.1989. The New

Landscape: Urbanisation in the Third

world, A Mimar Book, Butterworth

Architecture,6 Alexander, Christopher and others, 1979.

A Pattern Language, Oxford University

Press

Transport Planning 39

Transport Policy & Management:Calculating Risks and OptionsRAVINDER N. BATTA


Some transport costs are also external to those who make use oftransport; and are often unaccounted for. The main external costs oftransport use are congestion (loss of time), accidents (health and safetyrisks) and environment (pollution and depletion of natural resources).One of the prime concerns of a transport policy is the development oftransport infrastructure while keeping these externalities under control.This paper is an attempt to highlight the environmental costs oftransport use and an alternate policy option of using economicinstruments to control the environmental implications of transportdevelopment.

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

Transport has a major impact on our lives. Even though lack of efficienttransport in the developing countries acts as a serious drag on economicdevelopment, too much of transport in the developed world is the causeof serious gridlock, congestion, pollution and health damage. Traffic inmajor cities of the world is heavily congested resulting in billions ofdollars lost to economies and serious disruption to everyday life (WorldBank 1996). Further still, growth of demand for transport is a major factorin the growth of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and the problemsassociated with climate change. In developing countries, local airpollution from transport cause premature deaths of over 5,00,000 peopleevery year, and imposes an economic cost of up to 2% of gross domesticproduct (GDP) in many countries (World Bank 2002). It is argued that the

Dr Ravinder N. Batta is currently postedas Secretary, State Transport Authourity,

Himachal Pradesh. Having done MA,M.Phil in Economics from India followed

by a Master of Science from theUniversity of Bradford, U.K. and a

Doctorate in Environmental Economicsfrom India; he is keenly interested inapplication of tools of environmental

economics in different fields ofdevelopment. The author has several

publications to his credit in the area oftourism, transport and the environment.

He has also written a book on Tourismand the Environment, which is a

reference book by the Indira GandhiNational Open University for courses on

Tourism and Environment

40 Transport Planning

gains from low emission technology vehicles areoffset due to increased kilometres of travel therebypushing us further up the GHG emission curve.

However, the usual policy response to the problems oftransport has been to invest more money ininfrastructure such as roads and highways leading tohigher volumes of traffic and in the absence of reliablepublic transport a switch over to personal modes.Unfortunately, these investments take a significantslice of the budget at a time when healthcare, pensionand social infrastructure need more attention in thewake of rising costs and falling allocations in realterms.

The transport sector accounts for a large share ofglobal GHG emissions with further prospects ofgrowth (World Bank 2003). In the developingcountries, owing to higher energy consumption withinthe transport sector, the share of the transport sectoris likely to increase manifold. For India, the mostserious environmental impact is that of air pollution,particularly because of its effect on human healthdirectly and indirectly.

Many people here spend time in close proximity toroad traffic and therefore remain more exposed toharmful emissions because of their lifestyle, economiccondition, and occupation. The problem is furtheraggravated by traffic congestion, which reduces travelspeeds incurring environmental and economicdamage. As a result of traffic congestion, fuelconsumption increases and so do vehicular emissions,which exacerbate air pollution and noise.While greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehiclesmay not be a serious concern for developing countriesat present, the rapid pace of urbanisation and evenfaster pace of motorization will require a change in

perception at all fronts. According to theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),energy use by the transport sector accounted for 22%of global CO

2 emissions in1990. In India, two main

factors contribute to vehicular pollution namely alarge number of two wheelers and a rising number ofdiesel vehicles.

The discussion hereinafter explores an alternatepolicy option that has the potential of controllingtransport costs with net additional resourcemobilization. The focus is on the economic

instruments (EI) and their potential applications indifferent areas of externalities: pollution andcongestion. However, a caveat is in order here: whilethe prescription may appear to be rather simple, itsactual implementation is fraught with roadblocks bothadministrative and political. It will be too hazardousto presume it a painless remedy for the problemsassociated with transport use.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKTHEORETICAL FRAMEWORKTHEORETICAL FRAMEWORKTHEORETICAL FRAMEWORKTHEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

As the basic source of externalities is the fact thatpricing system is not applied to public goods, pricingthe public goods is one of the alternatives suggestedby some economists (Baumol and Oates, 1988;Jeanrenaud, 1997). The instruments applied for thispurpose are called incentive based, as the solepurpose of the instruments is to modify the behaviourof the polluters. All of these have one characteristic incommon: they make the polluters aware ofopportunity cost of environmental resources and leadto the internalization of damage (Batta 2002). Amongthe most important economic instruments are: taxes/charges, subsidies, and tradable permits.

Nitrogen Oxide (NOx)

Smoke/ ParticulateMatter (PM)

MAJOR VEHICULARPOLLUTANTS

GasolineEngines

Two StrokeEngines

DieselEngines

Carbon monoxide (CO)

Hydrocarbons (C-H)

Nitrogen Oxide (NOx)

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Hydrocarbons (C-H)

Smoke/ ParticulateMatter (PM)

FIGURE 1

Some transport costs are external and oftenunaccounted:congestion,accidents & environment


Taxes

Taxes can be used as policy instruments to correctunder-pricing of the environmental resources. One ofthe basic differences between the direct controls andthe pricing techniques is the way they treat theenvironmentally damaging activities. While the formeris considered as illegal, the latter is reckoned as a partof economic activity that should certainly be curtailed,but not by the use of police powers of the state. Thefiscal approach uses the meter rather than the policeinspector for enforcement. Taxing the polluters for theprivilege of polluting certainly affects their economicbehavior. Tax assumes the role of a cost, which has tobe internalized.

Among the major applications of taxation policy in thetransport sector are:

(a) Parking chargesThe act of parking is a close complement of vehicle

use, especially in the case of urban transport.Charging a toll for parking may be needed to cover thecost of the parking space, and to allocate existingspace efficiently. However, it is something beyondthis: the idea is to tax vehicle use by taxing a closecomplement. Besides, it may be appropriate to tax

Table 1: Health and Ecological Effects of Air PollutionPOLLUTANTS

Carbon monoxide(CO)

Nitrogen oxides(NOx)

Sulphur oxides(SOx)

Particulate matter(SPM andPM10

Lead

EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

Can affect the cardiovascular system, exacerbatingcardiovascular disease symptoms, particularly angina:may also particularly affect fetuses, stickle cell anemiain young children; effect on the central nervous system,impairing physical coordination, vision and judgment,creating nausea and headaches, reducing workerproductivity and increasing personal discomfort.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can affect the respiratory system:

Nitrogen monoxide (NO) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2),

where they play a part in photochemical smog formation,may indirectly increase susceptibility to infections,pulmonary diseases, impairment of lung function andeye, nose and throat irritations.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) can affect lung function.

Fine particulate matter may be toxic in it self or maycarry toxic (including carcinogenic) trace substances,that can alter the immune system. Fine particulates canpenetrate deep into the respiratory system thus irritatinglung tissue and causing long-term disorders.

Can cause brain damage, encephalopathy in childrenresulting in lower IQ, death, hyperactivity and reducedability to concentrate.

EFFECTS ON NATURALENVIRONMENT

NO and NO2 can contribute

significantly to acid deposition,damaging aquatic ecosystems andforests; NO

X can also have a fertilizing

effect on forests.

Sulphur oxides can contributesignificantly to acid depositionimpairing aquatic and forestecosystems. Sulphates can affect theperception of the environment byreducing visibil ity even at lowconcentrations.

Fine particulates can significantlyreduce visibility. High dust and sootlevels are associated with a generalperception of dirtiness of theenvironment.

Source: Houghton and Hunter (1994)

Parking charge is an effective tool to restrict vehicle use by pricinga close complement i.e. the parking space


parking as a way to control demand and correctexisting distortions that under-price parking. Taxescan be applied on parking spaces, parking subsidiesand parking rental transactions. The net outcome is ahigher cost of movement and hence a lower level ofmobility. Among the main weaknesses of this policy isthe fact that it penalizes ‘stopping’ traffic vs.‘through’ traffic and shorter trips instead longer ones.

(b) Taxing fuelThere is a natural correlation between fuel use andmarginal private cost of transport. Taxing fuel has theeffect of raising the marginal private cost of mobility.Since the fuel tax can be differentiated according tothe fuel used and its quality, it can have a substantialeffect on control of emissions. As diesel is morepolluting in terms of particulate matter that hasserious health effects, a higher tax could be levied ondiesel compared to petrol and CNG. In petrol, adistinction can be made between leaded and unleadedpetrol. However, the biggest limitation of taxing fuel isthat it does not make distinction between vehicle type(car versus truck), vehicle technology and use:professional versus private. Differential taxes havebeen tried in Britain, Canada, and Australia. Australia,Canada and Finland have higher taxes for leaded fuel.

(c) Vehicle license feesTaxing the vehicle ownership constitutes a way ofincreasing the fixed cost of vehicle use. Taxes onownership can play a role since they can bedifferentiated according to vehicle type. They areeasy to implement and are a good source ofgovernment revenue. However, ownership tax does

not take into account, when and where, the vehicle isused and the external cost of congestion is higher. Forthe same reason, it might be less powerful comparedto policies that increase the marginal costs of mobility.Ownership taxes are probably the most common formof motor vehicle taxation in the world.There are however, some limitations of use of tax as aninstrument of control. One significant weakness of thetax approach is the uncertainty about the magnitudeof its effects. It is difficult to ascertain the decrease inexternalities to the corresponding increase in tax. It istherefore argued that the tax as an instrument ofcontrol of pollution in areas characterized bythreshold-effect cannot be effective. Second, it isargued that it poses unnecessary burden. Finally,environmentalists object to the levy of the tax as itgives a license to the polluters to pollute.

Subsidies

There are basically two types of subsidies: unitsubsidies and grants to defray the cost of pollutioncontrol equipment. The unit subsidies are paymentsbased on reduction in discharges. The grants on theother hand are payments made to offset the cost ofpollution control equipment. The use of subsidies toprevent pollution is to use carrot rather than the stick.However, still these have been applied. Potentialapplications in transport include subsidies forpurchase of models with less emissions and energysaving; the subsidization of substitutes to privatelyowned vehicles, such as the public transport. It hasbeen observed however that the demand for publictransport might be very inelastic so as to require verystrong subsidies. Other shortcomings include thedifficulty in setting the optimal level of subsidy, therisk of mismanagement of funds and the rent seekingbehavior. Moreover, compared to road pricing, thisinstrument would require an increase in fiscalrevenues.

Tradable Permits

Tradable permits are a major category of incentivebased instruments. As opposed to acting directly onprices, as is done in case of charges or taxes, thegovernment fixes the maximum quantity of emissionsby a company/firm by giving a corresponding amountof permits. Each permit entitles the firm to emit aparticular level of pollutants. Companies, however,have the option of buying and selling permits or evenholding on them for future use. The market forces:demand and supply, determine the price of the permit.

More investment in infrastructure leads to higher volumes of traffic and aswitch to personal modes


One important example of application of thisinstrument is the case of Singapore. The governmentof Singapore introduced a quota system - first of itskind in the world in the year 1990. This systemrequires a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) to own anew car. The quota system has seven categories,depending upon engine capacity and intended vehicleuse. Those who intend to register their motor vehiclehave to first bid for a COE public tender. The COEpremium in each tender is determined by the amountof the lowest successful bid. All successful bidderspay the same premium. The COE has a life span of tenyears after which the owner has to either de-registerhis vehicle/s or renew the COE for another ten years

by paying the prevailing quota premium. However,presently the COE is non-transferable in Singapore(MORT 2003).The marketable permits can do better than tax in fourrespects. First, their receipts are unaffected byinflation. With the rising prices and declining realvalue of the currency, the bid will automatically rise tomaintain the real earnings. Second, with rise in numberof units and permits remaining unchanged, the permitprices will rise leading to a tendency to outbid theexisting holders or incentive to reduce emissions.Third, it is possible to keep the levels of pollution andcongestion in accordance with the sensitivity of thearea or locality. For more fragile areas, smaller numberof vehicle permits can be allotted.

ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS ANDECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS ANDECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS ANDECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS ANDECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS ANDVEHICULVEHICULVEHICULVEHICULVEHICULAR POLLAR POLLAR POLLAR POLLAR POLLUTIONUTIONUTIONUTIONUTION

Vehicular exhaust is affected by two factors: vehicularmaintenance and congestion. While the focus of thepaper is environmental pollution caused by the mobilesource, the ways to control congestion are also ofprime significance. Hence, this section is divided intwo parts.

(a) Vehicular Technology and MaintenanceThe causes of pollution emanating from the vehicleexhaust can be classified into four types: relating tothe vehicle technology, vintage, fuel use, and usage.Over the years, vehicle technology has substantiallyimproved resulting in better fuel efficiency and lesseremissions. Among the petrol driven vehicles,introduction of four stroke engines in two and threewheelers and accurate fuel injection systemscontrolled by electronics are the most significantaspects from an environmental perspective. Theelectronic control systems tend to optimize theignition and the injection requirements.

While vehicles of the above technology are nowbeing manufactured and sold in India, it is, however,important to develop an arrangement that encouragesintroduction and use of better technology vehicles. Asuitable policy framework is required to substitute thein-use obsolete technology vehicles with newtechnology interventions. The road tax or the tokentax needs to be structured so, that the incidence of thetax reduces with the technological improvements andrelates positively to decrease in levels of pollution.Suitable tax concessions could be provided for fourstroke engines in two and three wheelers, Euro-IIengines in petrol and turbo engines in diesel vehicles.

Improvements in technology would certainly enhanceperformance parameters in pollution and road safetyamong new vehicles but attention also needs to begiven to the in-use vehicles. Among the in-usevehicles, Inspection and Maintenance Program,Manufacturer Warranty Program and Scrap Programcould help tackle the problem. As per the provisionsof the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, all commercialvehicles have to obtain a certificate of fitness once ina year and private vehicles after 15 years of life andevery five years thereafter. It has been done to ensuremaintenance of vehicles. Introducing a progressivetaxation that increases with the life span of the vehiclecould induce early replacement or scrapping by theowners. In addition, providing incentives for retrofitmeasures such as the catalytic converter and enginereplacement could also bring remarkable results. It isestimated (Reddy 2000) that older commercial vehiclesretrofitted with modern engines could reduceparticulate levels at least by 80 per cent andhydrocarbons by 60 per cent and no increase in NOxand noise levels.

Extending the responsibility of performance to themanufacturer is also one of the often-recommended

Table 2: Emission Rates from Different Types ofvehicles (per km)Type of vehicle Emission in grams

PM10

HC CO NOX

Cars 0.25 1.5 9.5 1.9

Taxi 0.33 6.2 28.9 2.7

3-wheelers 0.5 7.65 12.25 0.1

2-wheelers 0.5 5.18 8.3 0.1

Diesel bus 2 2.1 12.7 7.96

Diesel truck 2 2.1 12.7 7.96

Source: Xie, J. et al (1998)


options. As the manufacturers would not like to bepenalized through the warranty-covered repairs, thequality of the equipment will improve. It is beingachieved in India by making suitable provisions in theCentral Motor Vehicle rules.

Vintage or the age of the vehicle is another importantfactor affecting the pollution levels. It is important inIndia since the maximum life span of vehicles has notbeen prescribed here. As new vehicles are cleanerthan older ones, policies that encourage early scrapage of the older vehicles hold the promise ofsignificant emission reduction. One of the optionsused by many countries is introduction of a subsidyon scrapping a vehicle. The success of scrap programin terms of cost effectiveness and emission reductionhowever depends on the amount of subsidy. If thesubsidy offered is less than the selling price of the oldvehicles, it may not be effective while raising the levelof subsidy may reduce cost effectiveness. Besides,due caution has to be maintained to ensure that thesubsidy does not reduce the incentive to maintain thevehicle.

In terms of fuel use, CNG, LPG and petrol areconsidered to be less polluting compared to leadedpetrol and diesel. Introduction of an emission chargebased on fuel used is often advocated. Adifferentiated fee structure based on classificationsgiven in Table 3 is recommended to encourage use ofenvironment friendly fuel and technology in vehicles.It could further be made a progressively graduatedcharge based on the life of the vehicle.

Finally, the vehicle usage (private versus commercial)is also an important factor. As the commercial vehiclesply more, they tend to emit more pollutants. Besides,the problems of overloading and bad maintenance arealso associated with the commercial vehicles.Therefore, the incentives for technologicalinterventions like catalytic converters, electronic fuelinjections, turbo chargers; modern carburetors andconversion to greener fuels need to be built in theemission fee or tax rate structures.

(b) CongestionTraffic congestion imposes substantial cost to thesociety: pollution, energy and time. With the ever-increasing vehicle population and increasing vehiclekilometres, the situation on congestion is likely toworsen in future (Batta 2004). Consequently, transportplanners and policy analysts are faced with theproblem of finding a policy tool to handle it. Among

the options are road pricing, subsidizing the publictransport and introduction of rapid mass transitsystems.

One of the options tried in many places of the world isroad pricing. Among the most popular types of theroad pricing are pay lanes, area licensing and cordonpricing. With pay lanes, of which the high occupancyor toll lanes are the examples, one of the severalhighway lanes is tolled while the others are not. Thesystem seeks to improve efficiency by sorting driversaccording to their value of time. The area licensingrequires a license to drive in certain areas. Examples ofits use are found in Singapore and several Europeancountries. The cordon pricing aims at reducingcongestion through a differentiated charge for entryinto the area within the cordon. Well-known examplesof cordon pricing are found in Norway and London.

One of the best examples of the road pricing is thecongestion charge of London. At five pounds per daythe charge currently raises about 500,000 pounds perday. It is estimated that due to this charge traffic isreduced by at least 20 per cent. Besides, the money soraised is spent on improvement of bus services in theLondon city. However, congestion pricing has at leastthree major limitations (Safirova et at 2003): highimplementation costs, privacy issues anddistributional effects. High implementation costs arise

Framework

Framework

Vehicle type Rates of tax10 yrs 15yrs 25yrs Above 25yrs

Cars (Petrol)

Cars Diesel

Taxies

Taxies

Three Wheelers(Petrol-2 Stroke)

Three Wheelers(Diesel)

Two Wheelers(Two stroke)

Two Wheelers(Four stroke)

Buses

Table 3: Proposed Motor Vehicle Taxation based onage and fuel used


as a result of the need for a barrier to collect the toll.With manual collections, the costs and timeimplications both rise. However, the recentintroduction of electronic smart cards to collect thetoll has helped a great deal. Privacy issues arisemainly in the manual form of collection and are by andlarge over come with the smart cards. Distributionaleffects of congestion tolls remain an area of concern.Since everyone pays the same toll regardless ofincome, low-income motorists sufferdisproportionately. Compensating the potential usersby appropriately spending the revenue could improvethe political feasibility of congestion pricing.

Subsidizing the public transport could be achieved intwo ways: cash subsidy for operation and taxincentives to the public transport operators. While thefirst one is considered to be inefficient and also putsstrain on the fund-starved governments, the taxconcessions have found favour with governments inmany countries.

The high-capacity mass transit system needs aserious consideration where very little additionalcapacity can be squeezed out of the existing system.The latent demand for road use, for example, is sohigh that any additional space is immediatelyoccupied not only by vehicles in motion but also by

parked vehicles particularly the freight vehicles,hawkers, and slums. Making improvements in publictransport is an optimal way of responding effectively,at affordable costs and in an energy-efficient andenvironmentally sustainable manner, to the presentand future transportation needs of the vast majority ofpeople in developing countries. It leads to theestablishment of integrated transportation systems,made up of complementary transportation modes thatare compatible with travel demand and affordable forthe urban population.

CONCLCONCLCONCLCONCLCONCLUSIONUSIONUSIONUSIONUSION

The first phase of control of externalities like the onesdiscussed above, throughout the world, involvedtraditional legal remedies such as emissionsstandards. Overtime, however, it became clear thattraditional regulatory approaches to pollution controlwere excessively costly in some circumstances(Tietenberg 1995) and incapable of achieving thestipulated goals in others. Failures have beenespecially common in developing countries, wherelegal and regulatory institutions are often weak(Murti, James and Mishra 1999). In response to thesedeficiencies, the second phase of pollution controlfocused on market-based approaches. In somecircumstances, they have substituted for traditional

as well as environmental



• Batta, R.N. 2002. Environmental Policy for

Sustainable Development of Tourism

Industry in Himachal Pradesh: A Study of

Kufri-Chail Area. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis

submitted to the Himachal Pradesh

University, Shimla.

• Batta, R.N. 2004. Transport Policy in

Himachal Pradesh: The Reform Agenda,

under consideration with Indian Journal of

Transport Management.

• Baumol, W.J and Oates, W.E 1988.

Economics, Environmental Policy and

Quality of Life. London: Prentice Hall, Inc.,

• Frey, B., F. Schneider, and

W.W.Pommerehne.1985. Economists

Opinions on Environmental Policy

Instruments: Analysis of a Survey.

Journal of Environmental Economics and

Management, Vol.12, No.1.

• Harrington, W, R.D. Morgenstern, and P.

Nelson. 2000. On the Accuracy of

Regulatory Cost Estimates. Journal of

Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 19,

No. 2:297-322.

• Houghton, G and Hunter Colin. 1994.

Sustainable Cities. Regional Policy and

Development Series7. London: Jessika

Kingsley.

• Jeanrenaud, C. 1997. Economic

Instruments for Economic Policy, In C.

Jeanrenaud, Edt. Environmental Policy

Between Regulation And Market,

Birkhauser Verlag basel, Switzerland.

• MORT. 2003. Urban Transport Policy for

India. New Delhi: Ministry of Surface

Transport.

• Murty, M.N., James, A.J., and S. Mishra

1999. Economics of Water Pollution. New

Delhi: Oxford University Press.

• Patankar, P.G. 2000. Urban Transport,

Survey of the Environment, 2000. New

Delhi: The Hindu.

• Reddy, C. M. 2000. Vehicles Emissions:

Beyond Technology. Survey of the

Environment, 2000. New Delhi: The Hindu.

• Safirova, E., K. Gillingham, I. Parry, P.

Nelson, W. Harrington, and D. Mason

2003. Welfare and Distributional Effects of

Road Pricing Schemes for Metropolitan

Washington, DC, Discussion Paper 03-57,

Resources For the Future.

• Tietenberg, T. 1995. Design Lessons From

Existing Air Pollution Control Systems:

The United States, S. Hanna and M.

Munasinghe Edt. Property Rights in a

social and Ecological Context: Case

Studies and Design Applications.

Washington, D.C: The World Bank.

• World Bank (1992) World Development

Report 1992: Development and the

Environment. New York: Oxford University

Press for The World Bank.

• World Bank (1996) Sustainable Transport:

priorities for policy reform, Washington

DC: The World Bank.

• World Health Organisation (2002) Cities

on the Move: A World Bank Urban

Transport Strategy Review. . New York:

Oxford University Press for The World

Bank.

• World Health Organisation (2003) A Five

Year WHO Strategy On Road Injury

Prevention. http://www.who.int/

violence_injury_prevention/

• Xie, J. Et al (1998) Fighting Urban

Transport Air Pollution for Local and Global

Good: The case of Two-stroke engine

three wheelers in Delhi. Paper presented

at workshop on Integrated Approach to

Vehicular Pollution Control in Delhi.

remedies, while in most of the cases they havecomplemented them. However, even the addition ofmarket-based approach has not fully solved theproblem of pollution control. The main difficulties areencountered in designing, implementing, monitoringand enforcing market-based regulations. For asuccessful application of economic instruments, it isessential to have researched the environmental costsproperly, taking into account the special conditions ofdeveloping countries and carefully implementing it ina manner that averts possible disruptive effects andnegative distributional impacts. It is argued (WorldBank 1992) that the user costs are considered in theproduction of goods automatically if there are secureproperty rights and the social discount rate does notdeviate too much from the private discount rate.However, with high private discount rates and/or openaccess resources, environmental costs are not takeninto account unless forced to do so with incentivebased systems or command and control (CAC)regulations. In other words, an intervention that

equalizes the private and social discount rates iswarranted. A pricing policy that requires the polluterto pay can deal effectively with this problem.

To effectively reduce transport externalities, it isimportant to change transport pricing so that they area better reflection of the marginal social cost oftransport. Since transport demand is expected to growfurther, the need for a better transport pricing will onlybe increased in future. This paper has attempted toexplore some dimensions of the alternate policyframework that uses economic incentive approachalong with the command and control approach.. It isargued (Frey et al, 1985) that the support for theeconomic instruments was the strongest in theacademy and got progressively weaker, the closer onegot to the trenches where the policies were actuallymade. Therefore, it is often felt that due to politicaland technological reasons it is likely that the reformprocess in the transport pricing will only beimplemented gradually.¶

Natural Heritage 47

Proposed Action Plan forConservation of Waterbodies inDelhiMANU BHATNAGAR

ABSTRACTABSTRACTABSTRACTABSTRACTABSTRACT

In 2001, a Delhi based NGO Tapas filed a PIL (public interest litigation)[Case No. 3502/2000] in Delhi High Court seeking directions topreserve the water bodies of Delhi. As there was no clear informationabout the number of water bodies existing in the national CapitalTerritory of Delhi, the Court ordered a field survey to be conducted byINTACH in association with several government agencies enjoyingjurisdiction over the various water bodies of Delhi. The survey, carriedout from October 2001 to December 2001, established that there were508 water bodies in NCT Delhi along with their approximate areas andthe agencies under whose jurisdiction the water bodies were placed. Thesurvey provided a reasonable working basis for further action but couldnot be deemed hundred per cent accurate. Other survey carried outseparately by GNCTD place the number of water bodies at over 600 andthat by Tapas at over 700. The article summarizes the survey work doneby INTACH and subsequent proposals for the conservation of waterbodies of Delhi.

Definition of WDefinition of WDefinition of WDefinition of WDefinition of Waaaaater Bodiester Bodiester Bodiester Bodiester Bodies

There has been some debate in government circles regarding whatconstitutes a water body therefore a few of the standard definitions havebeen stated here. The Ministry of Environment & Forests [Government ofIndia] has adopted the IUCN [International Union for the Conservation of

Manu BhatnagarAdvisor, Natural Heritage Division,

INTACH

48 Natural Heritage

Nature] definition, also used by the RamsarConvention for wetland conservation.

IUCN Definition“ Submerged or water saturated lands, both naturaland manmade, permanent or temporary, with water thatis static or flowing, fresh, brackish or saline, includingareas of marine water the depth of which does notexceed 6 metres at low tide”.

The water bodies that are recognized as wetlandsinclude: oxbow lakes, riverine marshes, freshwaterlakes and associated marshes (lacustrine), freshwaterponds (under 8 hectares), marshes, swamps(palustrine), shrimp ponds, fish ponds, shallow seabays and straits (under six metres at low tide),estuaries, deltas, sea beaches (sand, pebbles), intertidal mudflats, sand flats, mangrove swamps,mangrove forest. coastal brackish and saline lagoonsand marshes, salt pans (artificial), rivers, streams -slow flowing (lower perennial), rivers, streams - fastflowing (upper perennial), salt lakes, saline marshes(inland drainage systems, water storage reservoirs,dams, seasonally flooded grassland, savanna, palmsavanna, rice paddies, flooded arable land, irrigatedland , swamp forest, temporarily flooded forest andpeat bogs.

Modified IUCN Definition“All submerged or water saturated lands, natural ormanmade, inland or coastal, permanent or temporary,static or dynamic, vegetated or non-vegetated, whichnecessarily have a land-water interface are defined aswetlands.” This definition has been used by ISRO(Indian Space Research Organisation) for its study on‘Wetlands of India’ [June, 1998]. The standardclassification of water bodies adopted for the ISROproject [nationwide wetland mapping project] asrelevant to this action plan is as follows:• Lakes : Larger bodies of standing water occupying

distinct basins.• Pond : Generally suggests a small, quiet body of

standing water, usually shallow enough to permitthe growth of rooted plants from one shore toanother.

• The only difference between lake and pond is ofsize, which is also not quantified.

In a meeting [5th February, 2002 - Office of theCommissioner, MCD] of the several concernedgovernment agencies it was noted that “In thecontext of Delhi water bodies are to be defined asbodies of still waters in the urbanscape or ruralscape

which are either naturally present or intentionallycreated. Areas of unintentional water logging alongrailway tracks, canals, highways are excluded”.

NaNaNaNaNature of Wture of Wture of Wture of Wture of Waaaaater Bodies in NCTter Bodies in NCTter Bodies in NCTter Bodies in NCTter Bodies in NCTDelhiDelhiDelhiDelhiDelhi

The existing water bodies of Delhi come under thefollowing categories:• Most of the water bodies are village ponds located

in the revenue area of villages. The size range is700 sq.m. to 41000 sq.m. The village ponds aremostly created water bodies having very smalllocalised catchments for gathering rainwater. Theiroriginal purpose appears to have been to cool thewater buffaloes and to irrigate the adjacent fields.The availability of tube wells and canal water hasput an end to such requirements. Thus most pondspresent a picture of neglect. Some of the pondshave become absorbed in the urban area or villageabadi area where they have been used todischarge the local wastewater and thus becomecesspools.

• A few lakes remain. Most prominent are BhalaswaLake (a fresh water oxbow lake on the riverfloodplain). Another is Sanjay Lake (apparently ameander scour on the floodplain) in East Delhi.Najafgarh Jheel, which used to be the largest lake inthis area, now lies mainly on the Haryana side of theinter-state border.

• Marshes are found mainly within the floodplainembankments. However Jehangirpuri Marshes,which presently constitute the largest water body inDelhi, is outside the floodplain embankments.

• Significant historical water bodies are also found.(Step well or baolis are excluded from the categoryof water bodies).

Several water bodies have disappeared from Delhi’slandscape such as the Mughal Tank, Narela, theBadarpur Tank and several village ponds. Manyvillage ponds have been marked for acquisitiondespite noting in official meetings to the contrary [e.g.Minutes of Meeting chaired by Hon. CM, Delhi on 26/4/99 and Minutes of Meeting of 30/6/99 referring tospecific orders by Hon. Lt. Governor that no pond willbe filled without his approval]. Even otherwise manywater bodies are shrinking as a result of deliberateland acquisition and reclamation.

While the water spread is under pressure the waterquality has also deteriorated. This is mainly due towater bodies receiving polluted inflows in unsewered

Natural Heritage 49

areas, pollution-generating activities being carried outin the water body itself and garbage being dumped inthe water body. This leads to the water bodiesbecoming a breeding ground for disease producingvectors and at the same time allowing polluted waterto percolate to the underlying aquifers. Aquatic lifeand fish, which are the indicators of the health of awater body, are conspicuously absent.

WWWWWaaaaater Situter Situter Situter Situter Situaaaaation in Delhition in Delhition in Delhition in Delhition in Delhi

The water supply level in Delhi has remained static formany years despite the fact that population levels areincreasing all the time. This has led to situation ofwater stress with the yawning demand-supply gapbeing made up by resorting to groundwater extraction.The shallow fresh water strata of the ground waterreserves have been nearly exhausted in the areas ofacute resource stress.

The water supply from Tehri dam has been availablefrom the end of year 2004. This resource augmentationwould suffice to meet the situation till 2010.Thereafter, no further resource augmentation appearspossible in the foreseeable future. The variousreservoirs projected in the Himalayas for meetingDelhi’s demand are unlikely to be ready even inanother two decades. Delhi’s water requirement in2021 [based on a population level of 23 million and aper capita per day requirement of 150 litres] would be800 MGD against a supply level of 700 MGD [post

Tehri] from surface water sources. Hence, a certaindegree of reliance on ground water would continue.Threats to water security in Delhi persist. These canmanifest in the form of seismic risks to Tehri Dam, inthe form of extended drought leading to shortagescombined with rising demand from riparian states[being articulated politically and spilling on thestreets].

Need to PreserveNeed to PreserveNeed to PreserveNeed to PreserveNeed to Preserve

In view of the unavoidable reliance on ground waterthere is a pressing need to augment the declininggroundwater reserves. This is the reasoning whichendows the remaining water bodies with a new raisond’etre - the large number of water bodies can nowconstitute : dispersed aquifer recharge structures forenriching the local ground water regime, habitats foraquatic and avian bio-diversity which is vanishingfrom Delhi, substantially add to the visual attractionof the area, cool the micro-climate, offer recreationalpossibilities, enable sustained tube well operations inthe local area and increase soil moisture to supportenhanced vegetation growth in the localised area.

Problems Pertaining to SurvivalProblems Pertaining to SurvivalProblems Pertaining to SurvivalProblems Pertaining to SurvivalProblems Pertaining to Survivalof Wof Wof Wof Wof Waaaaaterbodies in Delhiterbodies in Delhiterbodies in Delhiterbodies in Delhiterbodies in Delhi

The different classes of water bodies, listed above,each face both common and distinct threats. These areoutlined as follows:

Waterbody nearQutubInstitutional Areain Delhi

50 Natural Heritage

• Due to urbanization, flows from catchments to waterbodies are interrupted.

• In years of poor rainfall the water bodies dry outquickly.

• Most river fed water bodies are disconnected fromthe river because of intervening embankments.

• Siltation of water bodies takes place throughsettlement of sludge from waste waters inflowleading to eutrophication of water bodies.

• Solid waste is surreptitiously disposed into somewater bodies to reclaim the land (even fly-ashdisposal has been done in some major waterbodies).

• Village ponds are often marked for acquisition andreclamation by the government for various forms ofsocial infrastructure (schools, dispensaries, sportsfacilities, etc.). As the pond lands are public landsno acquisition proceedings or compensation isrequired.

• In many cases the ponds have become engulfed inthe abadi area and become cesspools of wastewaterand the villagers are glad to have them filled up.

Apart from physical threats there is also the threatarising from perception of water bodies. The poorquality of water, the remoteness and inaccessibility ofmost of them, as well as the poor quality of theirsurrounding development places them rather low onthe environmental radar and as such authorities haveno compunction about reclaiming them. The citizensare quite unaware and unconcerned about them andtherefore, feel no stake in them. The rural citizen,having become reliant on tube wells and tankers alsofeels that he has no stake in them. As such there islittle pressure from the public on official agencies topreserve water bodies.

IsIsIsIsIssues in Presersues in Presersues in Presersues in Presersues in Preservvvvvaaaaationtiontiontiontion

Preservation of water bodies is not the mandate of anygovernment agency. The water bodies come underjurisdiction of different agencies, which are notcharged with their preservation or maintenance. Thus,institutional arrangements in this regard are veryweak. In spite of the survey conducted in 2001 somedoubts persist with regards to the precise number ofwater bodies, the actual areas of submergence remainunmapped and unmeasured, the exact location ofwater bodies with reference to village abadis remainunmapped. This is an important layer of theenvironmental map the unavailability of which hindersthe development of an action plan as well as deprivesus of a monitoring tool to monitor changes.

A major issue is whether every single water bodyshould be preserved as it is or should the presentavailable water spread be maintained on a reasonablydispersed basis. It is not possible to rejuvenate allwater bodies or service each of them with watersupply. Many of them are far too small to make anyworthwhile impact on the aquifer. Should tiny waterbodies or cesspools in the midst of abadi areas bepreserved or should they be filled up and maintainedas green? The lost water spread is recreated elsewherewhere it can be part of a larger water body and bemaintained perennially as well?

Awareness about the surface water bodies of Delhiand their potential is extremely low both in thegovernment as well as in the public mind and there isa general apathy on all fronts.

Proposed Action PlanProposed Action PlanProposed Action PlanProposed Action PlanProposed Action Plan

With the above background a plan of action has beenproposed. The plan of action, once accepted, is to beclosely monitored by the Hon. High Court.

The first requirement is to draw up the institutionalarrangements under the aegis of which sustained workcan take place where all the concerned agencies canbe represented. As such it is proposed that a LakeDevelopment Agency/Authority [LDA] may be set upin Delhi on the lines of a similar Lake DevelopmentAuthority in Bangalore. This may be headed by theDevelopment Commissioner, Govt. of NCT Delhi, asmost of the water bodies fall under the jurisdiction ofthe Development Department. Representation fromDDA [Planning and Landscape Departments] isessential. Other major representation would berequired from Delhi Jal Board, MCD and Departmentof Tourism, Delhi. Further, representatives fromCPWD, ASI, Railway authorities and UP Irrigationdepartment may be designated for representing theiragencies when required. The Authority may beendowed with a small secretariat. NGO representationis strongly advised.

The objectives of the LDA are outlined here and maybe further deliberated:• To establish a mapped database of all water bodies

based on satellite imagery [IRS 1D LISS and PANmerged imagery] of October, 2003.

• To draw up or consider plans for preservation andmaintenance of waterbodies and water quality andsurrounding development.

• To monitor changes in waterbodies deciding each

Natural Heritage 51

case on merit.• To enforce preservation of water bodies (size and

water quality).• To promote awareness about Delhi’s water bodies.• To actively seek opportunities to enlarge the water

spread in Delhi.• To draw up plans for the use of water bodies for

decentralized water supply and/or recreation and/oras biodiversity habitats.

• To draw up a phased program of action over a fiveyear period.

• To arrange for funds for implementation fromvarious sources [Court directives in this regard toDelhi Govt., DDA, MOEF, Ministry of Tourism(GOI) would be required].

The LDA’s NOC would be required for any actions(public or private) which have implications for waterspread, location and water quality or change in landuse of any water body. If unilateral action is sought tobe effected by any party the LDA could resort topolice help in this regard. The directives of the LDAmay be considered as binding on the DistrictCommissioners and BDOs and other agencies. Otherpowers to impose fines etc. could be elaboratedsubsequently. Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT Delhi andVice-Chairman, DDA may be directed to provideannual budgets sought by the LDA. Time Frame forestablishing the LDA may be 2 months.

Components of Action Plan for Each Waterbody :The following actions can be elaborated with regard toeach water body in any combination after dueconsideration:• De-siltation.• Water Augmentation by linkage to canals, storm

water drains or recycled water supply from Delhi JalBoard Sewage Treatment Plants or removal of waterlogging/floodwaters. (e.g. Model Town linkage toJehangirpuri Marshes)

• Up-gradation of water through various bio-remediation techniques including fisheries.

• Sustainable decentralized water supply in rural areasby shallow tube wells based on the rechargeeffected through water bodies followed bydecentralized treatment [this would create a majorstake in the sustenance of water bodies].

• Landscape and/or recreational facilities to beincorporated with water bodies to make for visualattraction as well as public interest.

• Revenue generation aspects should be considered.The historical water bodies are to be considered assacrosanct and the concerned agencies are to draw up

action plans for improvements for submission to theLDA within next 2 months. These are Hauz Khas[DDA], Hauz Shamsi [ASI] and Old Fort Lake [DTDC,DDA and ASI]

The Large Lakes: Action Plans are to be submittedwithin next 4 months with regard to Sanjay Lake[DDA], Bhalaswa [DJB/DTDC], Naraina, Harinagarand Jehangirpuri Marshes by other concernedagencies. With regards to Najafgarh Jheel [most ofwhich is lying on the Haryana side of the commonborder] the LDA would interact with the Haryanaauthorities to effect improvements. The action plansfor these lakes should be prepared in 4 months.

Village Ponds: Consolidation of waterbodies withinthe revenue boundaries of a village:• Water bodies located within urban area limits of

MPD 2001 within village abadi areas and of lessthan 4000 sq.m surface area may be reclaimed asgreen areas. 50 percent of the reclaimed area is to bemaintained as green and 50percent for public socialamenities.

• Water bodies located within abadi areas in villagesbeyond the limit of MPD 2001 and of less than 4000sq.m surface area may be reclaimed as green areas.50 percent of the reclaimed area is to be maintainedas green and 50% for public social amenities.However, simultaneously the reclamation has to beaccompanied by the creation of a new water body oftwice the reclaimed size within the revenueboundaries of the village.

• Where possible in rural areas the separate waterbodies of small size should be merged (unless thereare strong topographical reasons for existing siting)and consolidated with the larger waterbodies withinthe revenue boundary of the village. The followingadvantages would accrue:

• a larger water spread would create larger all roundrecharge potential.

• fewer water bodies would result in bettermanagement through more focussed effort.

• fewer water bodies would offer better engineeringpossibilities of sustaining these water bodiesthrough linkages to storm water channels, canalsand treated effluent plants.

• there would be greater visual interest.• richer bio-diversity habitats.• larger water bodies would offer revenue potential.• larger water bodies would offer greater possibilities

of decentralized water supply.• the above factors would generate greater public

awareness and interest in the water bodies.

52 Natural Heritage

In the case of effecting such consolidation the sourcingof waters for round the year maintenance of waterspread would be a prime consideration. Fresh sitingscan also be based on the recharge characteristics of theproposed location.• Diversion of sullage inflow from village ponds has to

be ensured.• Village ponds are to be focussed village-wise and

village specific solutions are to be sought in eachcase.

• Village-wise action plans are to be framed over thenext two years and the implementation program is tobe spread over 5 years.

• Beyond the 20 km arc of the Delhi Airport air funnel[mainly in north and northwest Delhi] larger waterbodies are to be developed as bio-diversity habitatsespecially for migrant birds. This would help ingenerating public interest in these water bodies.

New WNew WNew WNew WNew Waaaaater bodiester bodiester bodiester bodiester bodies

Delhi has faced severe loss of water bodies in the lastfour decades (e.g. half of Bhalaswa Lake, part of

Jehangirpuri Marshes and depressions in Dhirpur) andan attempt be made to create new water bodies as areplacement for lost water spread.

These water bodies are suggested as follows:• Reviving Najafgarh Jheel in collaboration with

Haryana Government.• The depression in master plan green in Dwarka can be

linked to Najafgarh Drain and recycled water fromDwarka STP to create a 2.5 km long lake to build upthe aquifer at Dwarka.

• Bhatti mines have been scarred with severalabandoned quarry pits. Of these four pits (No.s 2, 10,11, 12) having a storage capacity of 2.2 MCM, can bemodified, linked together and be filled with rainwateras well as treated effluent from Mehrauli STP.

• Creation of reservoir in Yamuna floodplains to storeand recharge the monsoon flood flow.

• In ridge area south of Sainik Farms.• On various storm water drains.• On Mundela Depression in Najafgarh Block.• Downstream of Satpula Dam in Saket Area.• At Mehrauli east of Ali Quli Khan’s tomb.¶


Survey report by Intach, New Delhi, 2001

Self Help Groups 53

Self Help Groups : A SuccessfulAlternative for Poverty AlleviationJYOTIKA KHIMTA

ABSTRACTABSTRACTABSTRACTABSTRACTABSTRACT

The greatest challenge to any civilized society is the social deprivationit harbors in league with economic deprivation. It is inescapable that acollective war is waged to banish human deprivation from our midst. Noother weapon can be more potent for this attack than building humancapital amongst the deprived, through sustainable developmentinitiation. This paper discusses the role of micro credit banking as aneffective tool in poverty alleviation program in India with supportingcase studies from the Himalayan State of Himachal Pradesh in India thatsustains heavily on subsistence farming in ecologically sensitive remoteparts of the region.

Indian scenarioIndian scenarioIndian scenarioIndian scenarioIndian scenario

Eradication of poverty has been one of the greatest challenges andprimary objective of the welfare state of independent India. Thegovernment has induced a plethora of welfare schemes for eradication ofpoverty but the actual achievements could not conform to the expectedbenefits projected for the targeted populace. Indian experience of postindependence era shows that non-involvement of people in developmentactivity has led to an attitude of total dependence on Government; leadingto a lack of pro-active behaviour and accountability that result into failureof many such development programmes. Subsidy oriented schemes havealways allured the masses and plunge them into inactiveness. Majority ofthese schemes have a downward flow, that is to say, tailored by policyframers who overlook the ground realities and people-centric approach.

Jyotika Khimta is currently working asProject Officer for ‘Women’s

Development Cell’ of the HimachalPradesh State Cooperative Bank Limited

at Shimla.A theatre and radio artist, she is also anews presenter with Prasar Bharati atShimla and is actively associated with

NGOs, Integrated Child DevelopmentSchemes and with Agriculture

Cooperative Staff Training Institute as aresource person

54 Self Help Groups

Indian Financial SystemIndian Financial SystemIndian Financial SystemIndian Financial SystemIndian Financial System

The poverty alleviation schemes are mainly of twotypes; one the total grant schemes and other theschemes with the financial assistance from banks interms of loans or working capitals. After thenationalisation of banks in 1969, banking serviceswitnessed a total reform shifting from economic/financial banking to social banking. But it is also afact that despite having enhanced their activities inrural areas, the beneficiaries of these schemes weremainly the middle upper crest of society, large farmers,industrialists etc.

The poor masses specifically the marginal farmers/tenant farmers/ landless laborers, rural artisans andthe un-employed youth who were unable to furnishsecurities/guarantees for the loans/advances weremostly ignored. A particular feature of the Indianbanking is that women, who constitute almost half ofthe population of the country, one third of the workforce and one tenth of the wage earnings, have beenleft totally un-covered by banking services. Thecredit system being very formal and complex wasinaccessible to this particular segment and hence thepoverty alleviation programs with credit facilities frombanks had lost in their outreach and essence.Micro credit innovation with special reference to SelfHelp Groups has come up as an adequate alternativefor all these hurdles in implementing povertyalleviation programs.

Genesis of the SHG conceptGenesis of the SHG conceptGenesis of the SHG conceptGenesis of the SHG conceptGenesis of the SHG concept

Professor Mohammed Yunus of neighbouring BanglaDesh is honoured as the pioneer of the SHG conceptbut the structure and working of SHGs in India havebeen accepted as one of the best in the world.

The National Bank for Agriculture & RuralDevelopment (NABARD) along with an NGO‘MARYADA’ (a Bangalore based NGO) was the firstto initiate a pilot project in India. After its successfulimplementation it launched this scheme nation-wide inthe year 1992. Today more than 2,800 partnersincluding NGOs, voluntary agencies and governmentorganisations have blossomed into the fastestgrowing and most cost effective micro financeinstitution in the country. It currently enables 1.56crore poor families to have access to sustainablefinancial services from the banking system through anetwork of 10.79 lakh Self Help Groups, financing tothe tune of Rs.3904.20 crore.

Philosophy of SHGPhilosophy of SHGPhilosophy of SHGPhilosophy of SHGPhilosophy of SHG

An SHG is a small informal group of seven to twentymembers of a homogeneous economic backgroundwho agree to thrift a small amount of money everymonth, week or day (a few exceptions) and the same islent to one of the group members on an interest. Aftersix months of uninterrupted deposit, lending andproper repayment, the group is termed as matureenough for credit linkage from a bank up to four timesof its own deposit at a liberal rate of interest andnominal formalities.

The credit can be utilized for consumer products aswell as for income generation activities. No subsidyelement is involved in the program. During itsformation - NGOs/ voluntary agencies and individualsfacilitate the group. However, certain banks have nowentered into the field through SHPI (Self HelpPromoting Institute) Scheme and groups are beingformed and nurtured by them. The groups can be men,women, or mixed but majority of them turn out to befrom among the women. In northern India, 75 per centgroups are women’s and in Himachal Pradesh almost90 per cent women constitute these groups.

Objectives of SHGObjectives of SHGObjectives of SHGObjectives of SHGObjectives of SHG

The following can be characterized the broadobjectives of an SHG:• To inculcate a saving habit.• To facilitate finance for the marginalized and un-

reached sections through banking services.• To facilitate rural communities in income generation

and self-employment.• To organize small socio-economic units.

SHGs in Himachal PradeshSHGs in Himachal PradeshSHGs in Himachal PradeshSHGs in Himachal PradeshSHGs in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh despite being a region of hillyterrain, tough topography and low-density populationhas established itself in the second place next only toRajasthan in SHGs linkage programme in North India.Since the inception of this scheme in 1995, a totalnumber of 13,228 SHGs have been financed to thetune of Rs.31.93 crore till 31st March 2004. It ispertinent to mention here that unlike other stateswhere commercial banks have taken a lead, inHimachal Pradesh the State cooperative banks andRegional Rural Banks (RRBs) have dominated the SelfHelp Groups credit link program. This concept isattaining a real success in tribal districts of Kinnaurand Lahaul - Spiti.

Self Help Groups 55

Relevance of SHGs in povertyRelevance of SHGs in povertyRelevance of SHGs in povertyRelevance of SHGs in povertyRelevance of SHGs in povertyalleviaalleviaalleviaalleviaalleviationtiontiontiontion

The significance of SHG concept lies in its ability totackle poverty alleviation in a cost effective mannerthrough financial products and services that aretailored to the needs of rural people. No program hadever ensured peoples’ participation or the personalstake of the beneficiaries before the inception of theSHGs. The savings incurred by the group memberswork as an adhesive and also create peer pressureto ensure repayment. Unavailability of subsidyamount is another positive feature. In subsidy-oriented programmes, the general tendency is tograb the subsidy irrespective of the ultimateobjectives of the scheme. The major advantage ofthe SHG concept is people’s involvement and theconfidence reposed in them, who themselvesperhaps are not aware of their capacities andcapabilities. A fine example of the strength of anorganized collective action by a group of motivatedpeople is analogised as under:

The above example illustrates the influence ofgrouping together for achievement of a common goalwith collective responsibility- the factors underlyingthe principle of building social capital. That too, bythose commonly referred as poor masses who may nothave even seen a bundle of Rs.10,000 notes in theirlife time! The attraction of the deposit is that the saidamount above is a ‘thrift’ not a saving.

Financial assistance in terms of loans is given togroups up to a maximum of four times of their depositwhich by and large, asserts that approximatelyRs.44.00 crore have been given to various groups asloans. This implying that a magnanimous amount ofRs.56.00 crore is revolving amongst the members andthe same is being utilized for consumption as well asproductive needs. No other poverty alleviation

program in India carries such a large amount with it.Further, no other scheme caters to the consumptionneeds of the borrowers and this very fact, restricts thediversion of loans to any other purpose. Where as itis a common feature in most of the other schemes thatthe loan amount is diverted from its specified purpose.The idea highlighted in this method that the membersare free to utilize the money according to theirrequirement ensures the right use of the funds and

definitely improves their satisfaction level. If theuniversality of the Maslow’s Need Hierarchy is to berelied upon, it is unavoidable that the consumptionneeds are fulfilled first and thereafter the resources aremanaged for productive needs.

Another positive aspect of SHG is that unlike otherschemes, it allows flexibility to the members to choosethe income generation activity according to theirtaste, skill and productivity leading towardsperfectionism. This helps in solving the marketingproblems too as the members produce goods forwhich easy market is already available. Local marketplaces usually referred as bazaars or haats serve thispurpose very well.

The success of the program can be determined by thefact that the groups come ahead for repeat loansindicating rising income as well as production levels.

Social upliftmentSocial upliftmentSocial upliftmentSocial upliftmentSocial upliftment

Whenever we talk about a poverty alleviationprogramme the general tendency is to understand theconcept as an economic activity and enhancement ofincome through skill development or financialassistance. This often leaves the social uplift an un-touched aspect, whereas social and economic

Number of groups formed till 31.3.2004 : 13,000 approx.

Number of members in one group : 12 average

Deposit per member per month : Rs 20 average

ANALOGY

Monthly deposit of one group: 12x20 = Rs.240

Monthly deposit of 13000 groups: 13000 x 240 = Rs.31, 20,000

1 year deposit of the group: 31,20,000x12 = Rs.3,74,40,000

3 year deposit: Rs.11,23,20,000

(Reference: Himachal Pradesh)

MASLOW’S NEED HIERARCHY

HigherLevel

LowerLevelNeeds

Self-actualisation

Esteem

Social Needs

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs(Food, Shelter & Clothing)

56 Self Help Groups

development are like Siamese twins, hard to separate.According to the well known Maslow’s NeedHierarchy principle - people attempt to satisfy theirphysiological needs (food, shelter and clothing) firstand only thereafter they shift towards safety andsocial needs. Lower level needs must at least partly besatisfied before higher level needs emerge. Maslowseparated the five needs in to lower and higher levels.Physiological, safety and social needs were describedas lower order and esteem and self-actualizationhigher order needs. But in contrast, SHG concept hasbeen credited for its twin benefits of gratifying lowerand higher level needs simultaneously. Theconsumption needs are satisfied by the corpus ofgroup saving or Bank loan and the desire to belong, toassociate, to gain acceptance, affection etc. areattained by the group dynamism. In this way,economic and social benefits are attained at the sametime. The Kangra district of Himachal says it all. Thecontribution of SHGs in eradicating social evils likeeve-teasing, intoxication, women’s suppression,foeticide etc. cannot be ignored. In addition SHGshave given such a platform to members where theyconverse and discuss their personal and socialproblems. Nâsha Nivaran Abhiyan (anti-alcoholism),Sakshârâta Abhiyan (literacy campaign) and familyplanning program are some of the success stories ofmany groups. The deep-rooted menace ofuntouchability has started loosing its clutches, asmembers from all parts of the society constitute agroup.

Psychological GainsPsychological GainsPsychological GainsPsychological GainsPsychological Gains

At first appearance, the SHGs seem like a smalleconomic unit with a common interest of thrift andcredit, but on further analysis of the actual workingsystem of SHGs, the said economic unit sparkles asthe custodian of an Indigenious Knowledge System.Indigenous knowledge (IK) is generated by localpeople through their day today experiences in facing

challenges of society, nature and economicdeprivation (Warren, D.M. & B. Rajasekaran). In therace for economic development, indigenousknowledge (IK) has come almost at the verge ofextinction.

SHGs revive this concept in the sense that theresponsibility of an animator/facilitator is limited tohelp members of the groups in understanding thesystem of thrift and credit whereas the rules,regulations and the working system are planned andimplemented by the group itself without anyinterference of the animator. More interesting is thefact that all these rules are not formulated in onesitting, instead they are a result of knowledgeacquired by people through accumulation ofexperiences, informal and intimate understanding ofthe problems and their solutions.

Imposing a fine on coming late or absence frommeetings and on delayed payment of thrift are thefinest examples of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in suchself-regulatory bodies. Formulation of these rulesalso implies that the decision-making capacity isenhanced and freedom is exercised amidst the groups,making them more confident in their day todaydealings even outside the ambit of SHG. This veryfact is more relevant to women as within familyboundaries they are not allowed to exercise theirpower of decision-making probably due to maledominance. Freedom to handle the moneyindependently and easy access to money (which veryoften is used for consumption needs of the family) hasraised the status of women in many families. The roleof women has shifted from a mere implementingagency to an active partner in the decision makingprocess at home as well as at the social front. That iswhy SHGs are also considered synonymous toWomen’s Empowerment, Gender-Sensitization and ofcourse the Poverty Alleviation Program.

There was a need for a welfare program wherein theamount of assistance (financial or non financial) mustreach the beneficiaries in totality, without anyleakages in the pipeline. SHGs have establishedthemselves as a unit of ideal administration resultingin the optimum use of funds flowing in. Federations ofSHGs in Andhra, Karnataka and Maharashtra have setfine examples. The cooperative societies that werefailing due to various reasons were rejuvenated withthe help of SHGs. The banking services have beenextended through Farmer-Clubs and various trainingcentres which impart vocational training to group

Self Help Groups 57

members and thereafter extend them financialassistance for setting up their own micro selfemployment units.NGOs and Voluntary Agencies have been gettinggrants from various quarters to form and nurture SHGsThey implement their developmental activities with thehelp of these groups, especially in rural areas.

However, certain safeguards are required to preventthis system from getting misused. NGOs in particularhave been given a lot of financial assistance for theformation of SHGs and this grant allures them to enterthe field without perfect know-how and experience,resulting into poor nurturing of the groups. Further,certain influential people specially Gram Pradhans(village chiefs), people from upper castes, mahajans(money-lenders) and politicians influence the groupsand exploit them for vested interests. Inspired by the

Mohini Rana, a housewife in village Barsu, Tehsil Mandifelt the need for employment when her husband lost histemporary job way back in 1998. But Mohini was notallowed to go away from her village, as women of herfamily were not supposed to work outside. In themeantime she came to know about SHG concept from GianVigyan Samiti and later from the then Manager of the H.P.State Cooperative Bank (H.P.S.C.B). Branch Office NerChowk, District Mandi (H.P.), the nearest bank in thearea. With their help she formed a group called Jai BholeShankar in July 1999 with a total of 14 members collectingRs.20 per month per member. The first loan raised fromthe bank was Rs.8000, which was distributed amongstthree members including Mohini. She bought a cow andstarted earning Rs.400/- per month by selling the milk.Inter loaning from the group was another source offinancial support for very small activities like vegetablegrowing, knitting, mat making etc. The second loan wasgiven for Rs.50,000 and four members bought high bredJersey cows for them. To ensure cost effectiveness, asystem was evolved to collect all the milk from the villageand every day one member went to the nearby market forselling it. Two members bought sewing machines and theother members made it a point to give all their tailoring workto them.

Inspired by the success of this group, the people fromadjoining villages also got interested in the SHG formation.Mohini Rana took a lead and formed four new groups alllinked with HPSCB Ner Chowk. Such overwhelmingresponse inspired the Bank and NABARD to form a

Farmer’s Club. Finally the first women’s Farmer club ofthe State was formed in the year 2000 named as MahilaKisan Club, Badsu with Mohini Rana as its Chief Volunteer.Formation of this club was a turning point for the area. Theclub came up with various developmental activities, literacycampaigns, gender sensitisastion issues, communitydevelopment activities and so on. Initially the women facedopposition from men as they tried to influence the decisionwhen they shifted from traditional crop structure tomodern technology but after the fruitful results the malepopulation also started supporting them.

Today the club has become an icon and the pivotal pointfor all government agencies working in that area for welfareschemes. Free demonstrations for plantation of trees fromForest Department, Horticulture Department, newtechnology for crop system from Agriculture Department,free hybrid seeds, latrines on subsidized cost, soilconservation, afforestation; a non-ending list of occultedbenefits is there to honour the club. In Himachal Pradesh,when the polythene bags were banned in March of 2004,the club saw it as a business opportunity. A one weekworkshop of paper and cloth bag making was organizedwith the help of NABARD and HPSCB under the spot &support programme and today every trainee earnsapproximately Rs.15,000 per month on an average Thevolunteers of the club are invited by other clubs all over theState for inspiration and guidance and these are the womenwho were once denied the opportunity to work outside thevillage. The said change has taken place within a shortperiod of four years.

Case Study

success of the SHG-concept, various governmentdepartments have started implementing their schemesthrough SHGs that may again result into haphazardformation under target-oriented approach. Since thereis no upper limit fixed for SHG saving, some affluentpeople are joining the groups for easy and cheaperloans. Such issues require serious consideration sothat the very essence of the SHG concept is notpolluted.

Despite all, it would not be an exaggeration if SHGscan be credited for, ‘ INCLUDING THE EXCLUDED’.¶


Maslow, A. 1943 “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Journal of

Humanistic Psychology

Warren, D.M.;Rajasekaran, B. 1993 “Putting Local Knowledge to

Good Use”. International Agricultural Development, Vol.13 (4)

58 Sustainable Solutions

Sustainable Solutions

Sustainable Solutions 59

Post Earthquake RehabilitationYATIN PANDYA

THE PROJECTTHE PROJECTTHE PROJECTTHE PROJECTTHE PROJECT

The project aimed at post earthquake rehabilitation of the entire village ina holistic, sustainable and participatory manner.

The development included housing, infrastructure, amenities, craftrejuvenation, education and employment generation as well as resourcemanagement.

The physical structures to be built included 455 traditional circulardwellings called bhungas, three schools, a bank, community structures,production centres, religious shrines, provision for house-to-housesanitation, electricity network and water harvesting through ponds andcheck dams.

CONTEXTCONTEXTCONTEXTCONTEXTCONTEXT

On 26th January 2001, a devastating earthquake measuring 6.9 at Richterscale struck the state of Gujarat in India. The worst hit was the desertregion of Kutch and it left more than 20,000 people dead and millionshomeless.

A hot arid climate and a desert like terrain mark the region of Kutchleaving a very limited natural resource base for sustenance. However, thepeople of Kutch are full of resilience, self-esteem and dignity. They areendowed with rich skills and engage in handicrafts such as embroidery,weaving, carpentry, leatherwork, clay work and metal craft. The hamletsthat spread over the remote areas of this desert have an exotic culture witha unique way of life. The houses are generally circular in plan, built with

Yatin Pandya is an architectwho worked as Project incharge and

Principal designer in the LudiyaRehabilitation project at Vastu Shilpa

Foundation, Ahemdabad.


adobe blocks and a conical thatch roof and are richlyembellished with clay and mirror work relief. Thus, itsets a complete milieu of art, culture and architecturesymbiotically interwoven with each other and hard tobreak apart. It was therefore imperative that anyredevelopment effort was holistic and did not disruptthese established systems or break the chain ofsustenance. Continuum of long established traditionsyet introduction of the element of “new” forprogressive change was the need of the situation.

A number of government and non-governmentorganizations took up the initiative to adopt andsponsor the rehabilitation of these villages. Gandhi nuGam at Ludiya was one of the sixteen villages whereVastu Shilpa Foundation was involved with therehabilitation process. The other developmentpartners included the Manav Sadhna (an NGO) andGujarat Mineral Development Corporation(Government department).

PROJECT DESCRIPTIONPROJECT DESCRIPTIONPROJECT DESCRIPTIONPROJECT DESCRIPTIONPROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Philosophy and ApproachAs a rehabilitation effort, the project had definiteconstraints as well as opportunities. One of the keyresponsibilities was to ensure a holistic rehabilitationthat encompassed socio-cultural, economic as well asshelter systems. A living environment is a sum total ofthese. Appropriateness of each system to itsinhabitant’s way of life is vital for a sense ofbelonging and sustenance. The other aspect was toensure and maintain the continuity of traditions,which, once functional, was disrupted overnight dueto external forces. The development process had tobe participatory involving end users in all keydecisions concerning choice of relocation site,settlement pattern, clustering, choice of dwelling

location, dwelling type, its construction, provision ofamenities as well as environmental management. Onthe other hand, as a new development, there wereopportunities for becoming an agent of changeespecially upgrading the infrastructure andenvironmental conditions. At Gandhi nu Gam, Ludiya,a decent balance of all these was ascertained throughintense interaction with the beneficiaries as well as anin-depth understanding of the context.

DEVELOPMENT SEQUENCEDEVELOPMENT SEQUENCEDEVELOPMENT SEQUENCEDEVELOPMENT SEQUENCEDEVELOPMENT SEQUENCE

Initial SurveyThe Village of Ludiya was evaluated following theearthquake not only for the damage and the generalliving conditions but also the social and physicalinfrastructure that exist there. Plans for action wererapidly established.

Social Structure• The village was essentially found to be clusters of

different communities, with varying family size anddifferent degrees of interaction.

• The occupation of people was mainly craft based.Some were agriculture labourers and others cattlebreeders.

• Due to the calamity, employment was badlyaffected. For craftsmen to go back to their trade,they needed assurance of livelihood and otherfacilities.

Economic Structure• Building industry itself could become an

employment source.• The craft industry required networking for

provision of raw materials and marketing offinished goods.

• Training of artisans and craftsmen.

Amenities• Inadequate and sometimes unavailable amenities

and facilities - Multi- purpose community space/school/ primary health care/ craft training institute/women and child welfare activities.

• Needed to identify facilities that help villagersenrich their economic and social standing -Watersupply, rainwater harvesting/ treatment andrecycling wastewater.

• New technology and equipment to assist andaugment occupational production capacity andlifestyle - Well-equipped workshops, smokelessstoves, solar lamps.

• Provision of basic amenities for health and medical

Outdoor view of the settlement


care in an appropriate and informed manner -House to house sanitation

Water Shed ManagementThere existed potential for watershed management byconstructing check dams over Ludiya, Mepai andGova rivers, deepening existing ponds, digging wells,and building underground water tanks and creating awater management committee for repair andmaintenance of it all.

TRADITIONAL EARTHEN DWELLINGSTRADITIONAL EARTHEN DWELLINGSTRADITIONAL EARTHEN DWELLINGSTRADITIONAL EARTHEN DWELLINGSTRADITIONAL EARTHEN DWELLINGS

Bhunga as Earthquake Resistant StructureThe circular house known as a bhunga, is traditionallybuilt with adobe walls and a conical thatch roof. Overthe years the villagers have mastered the technique ofbuilding this unique typology of dwellings using localresources for its construction. The dwellings showtraditional wisdom in a number of ways. The thickearthen walls keep it cool in the harsh desert climate,while the circular form renders it cyclone andearthquake resistant, the compound clusters suit therural life style and use of local materials make itsustainable. Each dwelling consists of a cluster of twoto three such circular bhungas over a plinthcompound. The clay and mirror work decor on thewalls render them an aesthetically pleasing vernaculararchitecture.

Unfortunately, in recent past, in the name ofmodernization the younger generation of villagers hasdiscontinued with this traditional dwelling type infavour of more urbane rectilinear stone and concretehouses. Ironically, after the earthquake, the newer/modern rectilinear structures were destroyed while thetraditional circular ones withstood the thrusts ofearthquake and stayed on mostly unaffected.

These traditional houses have outlasted theearthquake due to its engineering wisdom. Thecircular form, low slenderness ratio through lowheight and thick walls, small openings, plinthbuttressing, organic reinforcement as ties, light weightconical thatch roof with ring and radial ties andhomogeneity of material (mud) with earth allcontributed towards rendering this dwelling type asearthquake resistant.

Social RapportEstablishing a relationship with the people on a socialfront to develop a rapport and sense of fraternity wasnecessary to facilitate an open working-relationship

and understanding. Setting up an office in thevillage and living with the villagers gave them anassurance of commitment to the cause of rehabilitationcreating a bond of trust and also gave us a first handexperience of the nuances of their lifestyle and theintricacies of the context.

Discussions and consultations have been a part of atwo way education process.

Such exercises helped in motivating people andbrought us an understanding regarding therequirements of the relocated settlement. These alsoled to establishing the parameters of the area andextent of the site, the number of plots needed and thefacilities required both on paper as well as on-site.

Site SelectionThe site selection was based on several key factorsthat helped with the development of new communityinfrastructure and improvement in the communities’physical and social relationships. For instance,1) The Harijan community had reached the physical

Bhunga community


limits of its allocated land, as a result furthergrowth had to take place on a separate site. Thisresulted in the fragmentation of the communityinto Juna-Vaas, the old land and Nava-Vaas, thenew land. During site selection this was taken asan opportunity to bring the community closertogether.

2) The Muslim community donated land to theHarijan community so that they could expand andbe more comfortable.

3) The new site was located closer to the existingroad for better access.

4) The topography was taken into account forselection of the site. An existing depression in theland close to the selected site was used effectivelyfor water harvesting.

5) The new hamlet was located centrally among theexisting settlements to make a more connected andcoherent village.

INTERACTIVE SITE PLANNINGINTERACTIVE SITE PLANNINGINTERACTIVE SITE PLANNINGINTERACTIVE SITE PLANNINGINTERACTIVE SITE PLANNINGPROCESSPROCESSPROCESSPROCESSPROCESS

Many steps went into the site planning process toensure a thorough and responsive result. Thisincluded -

1) Conducting a reconnaissance study to ascertainand understand the existing conditions in thecommunity: the physical layout, demography,socio-cultural and economic aspects and anyunique or characteristic features of the place orpeople.

2) Motivating the people and discussing their needs,aspirations and requirements.

3) Translating the requirements and aspirations interms of elements in the built environment,determining the parameters of the required area,number of plots and facilities required.

4) Identifying and acquiring the land for resettlement,and assessment of its site features.

5) Proposing a site plan based on an understandingof the rural built environment-clusters organizedaround open spaces. This was done taking intoaccount the relationship between the people ofeach plot, the road and site features.

6) Discussion of the initial proposal with the endusers and gathering reactions and feedback.Communication was facilitated by the use of asimulation kit.

7) Analysis and understanding of the feedback toascertain the priorities and necessities so as toestablish a basis for the layout design.

8) Reorganization of the layout with the feedbackincorporating reactions, and also introducingcommunity open spaces, respecting therelationship of plots/spaces and the sequence ofarrangement of the plots on the site.

9) The process of feedback - reorganizationcontinued till the satisfaction of the end users.

10) The layout simulation kit was taken to the site forreconfirmation and better visualization of thelayout and on- site improvisation.

11) Pegging and laying out of typical plot corners forestimation of actual plot size in reality, shape andorientation.

12) After finalization of the layout to the community’ssatisfaction, the experiment of the simulation kitwas frozen and then translated to a scaled drawing,ready for execution.

THE RESULTHE RESULTHE RESULTHE RESULTHE RESULTSTSTSTSTS

The resultant outcome of the participatory process ofincorporating the feedback from the users in theevolution of the layout at a schematic level took into

Discussion between architect Yatin Pandya and the commnuity


consideration the internal relationships and proximityof the people, at the same time evolving a holistic andtotalitarian settlement.

The Simulation kitThe apparatus used as the experimental kit forsimulation of the layout consisted of a Styrofoam basewith the scaled extents and features of the sitedemarcated on it. Coded pieces of cardboard scaled tothe ascertained size of the plots were kept handy.Three-dimensional scaled simulations in Styrofoamwere also used for public institutions based on thedesign. Paper of the same colour was used fordemarcation of roads, organized open spaces etc.

The entire setup was then held in place on the basewith the help of tag-pins. The pins facilitated theirbeing anchored to the base without getting blownaway in the wind, but at the same time were freeenough to be moved around and shifted to differentplaces on the base. This helped in getting thevillagers’ feedback on the design layout. Thus, thissimple but practical simulation kit not only helped thevillagers visualize the layout and relationship network,but also catalyzed their involvement in the process.

Local Materials andConstruction TechniquesDue to the quantum of bhungas to be built at onetime, a large quantity of material was needed at once.In order to accommodate this, a material bank was setup collecting wood, grass, earth and cow dungnecessary for the construction of the bhungas.Although much of the earth with specific propertiesand cow dung was brought in from surrounding areas,the only cost incurred was that of transportation. Theremaining earth was excavated from areas adjacent tothe site.

Various combinations of materials were combined tocreate blocks and building components with differentproperties. Appropriate technology from such studieswas adopted to manufacture the blocks on site.

Self-help Construction ProcessThe inhabitants themselves carried out the labourwork for the construction at site. The sponsorsprovided a fixed amount of funding for each family forthe process.

There were several steps involved in the constructionprocess, and all members of the family and communityparticipated.

DETAILS OF A TYPICAL UNIT


1) Mud block fabrication. The sun-dried blockswere made in bulk using the ram and thesecontributed to the materials bank.

2) Setting out. Each family was responsible forsetting out the unit on their plots, and beganfoundation excavations. Their familiarity with theprocess of doing it helps them to execute itintuitively.

3) Wall Construction: The walls of the bhunga wereconstructed, using the blocks from the materialsbank and mud mortar prepared on site. The othercomponents, such as windows and doors werealso made on site. Familiarity with the

construction method helped each inhabitantparticipate in his or her own way.

4) Wall plastering and finishing. The walls arefinished using a composite plaster of cow dungand mud and the layers then applied by hand. Thelast two layers are done with Banni mud chosen forits unique characteristic that gives a better finish.

5) Thatch roof assembly. The roof is constructedwith a bamboo frame and wild grass top layer.Clumps of this grass are tied and braided into theframework. The specific characteristic of this grassmakes it impermeable to water yet helps the spacewithin, to be well ventilated.

View of the outside spaces


6) Plinth Construction. A raised platform isconstructed around all the buildings that make upthe dwelling compound. It is built of stone rubble,mud or block and finished in plaster.

7) Personalization and Ornamentation. In the laststep, inhabitants decorated their bhungas in theirindividual style and preference. Relief work as wellas coloured patterns ornament the interior andexterior of the bhungas.

AAAAACHIEVEMENTS AND INNOVCHIEVEMENTS AND INNOVCHIEVEMENTS AND INNOVCHIEVEMENTS AND INNOVCHIEVEMENTS AND INNOVAAAAATIONSTIONSTIONSTIONSTIONS

Participatory Design and Development: Users wereinvolved in key decision areas such as selection of

site, location of plot on site, neighbourhood planning;plan configuration, provision of amenities and houseconstruction. Thus appropriateness of the built formresolution and sense of belonging was extremely high.

Continuum of Tradition as well as Opportunity ofChange: Culturally and environmentally, appropriateaspects of built form and neighbourhood wereretained, i.e. clustering within settlement, dwellingforms and materials; while the opportunity forintroducing newer dimensions for improved livingconditions was seized. For example, provision ofsmokeless stove for healthier kitchen environment,solar lighting and house-to-house sanitation forcomfort and hygiene were included.

Sustainable Development: The settlement is renderedsustainable through design by way of its socio-cultural appropriateness; through constructiontechnology by way of its favourable climaticperformance in hot dry dessert climate; and throughresource management by way of water harvestingponds, check dams agricultural cultivation as well assolar lighting.

Integrated - Holistic Development: As a rehabilitationeffort it was important to reinstate the entire livingenvironment and recreate the networks that sustainedit. Hence, not only the houses but through theirclustering their social interaction was reinforced,clustering also provided for their occupational andeconomic work activity provisions and requirements,water needs were supported through rainwaterharvesting and check dams, solar lighting provided forthe decentralized self sustaining electricity. Inaddition, infrastructure and amenities were alsoprovided to cover house-to-house sanitation, grassbank for cattle, schools, health centres as well asshrine and community hall. Craft tools and marketingsupport was also provided for economic sustenance.

View of Achar courtyard


Appropriate Technology: The technology employedrelied on local resources and traditional wisdom. Itnot only ensures its subsequent maintenance byusers themselves but also remained earthquakeresistant as well as climatically most efficient.Earthen walls, round shapes, thick and dwarf walls,conical roof, small openings, five layer plasteringand homogeneity of material all render themearthquake resistant as well as cool in hot dryclimate.

All said and done, it is this intervention, whichprevented the people, who troubled by successivedroughts and then their only shelter devastated bythe earthquake, from migrating to areas near thecity. It has, due to the retention of their uniquehabitat, resulted into it becoming a touristdestination. It has again rekindled hope in themregarding the area and the potential it has for them -an oasis in the desert.

RRRRReplicepliceplicepliceplicability and Wability and Wability and Wability and Wability and Wider Impider Impider Impider Impider Impactsactsactsactsacts

Participatory approach to design, idea of holisticdevelopment with water harvesting and adequateinfrastructure as well as the concept of using localmaterial and know-how has been applied to anumber of resettlement projects.

Even adobe houses (circular bhungas), which werenot recognized by the authorities as permanentdwellings until then have been accepted now, aswell as promoted by the authorities as earthquakeresistant structures.

The project had initially begun for twenty familieswith 60 traditional bhungas but after the firstsuccessful demonstration it was extended to cover455 dwellings.¶


Vastu-Shilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental

Design is a non-profit, non-government organization registered as a

Charitable Trust and Society. Founded in 1978 by Balkrishna Doshi

it is actively involved in research and application of architectural

theory and design for sustainable development.Vastu-Shilpa

Foundation has received a number of National and International

Awards for its pioneering work and societal concerns.

Manav Sadhna is a Charitable Trust and an Ahmedabad based NGO

involved in the development and upliftment of the poor and

downtrodden of the society following the philosophy of Mahatma

Gandhi.

Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology

(CAPART) & Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) were

the financial partners in the project.

Interiors

Interiors


A Partnership Approach to LocalEnergy Management betweenEuropean and Asian CitiesPETER WEBBER, VASCO FERREIRA, MANUEL PARDO, DON LACK,

LUIS CASTANHEIRA


In Europe, several local areas have years of experience in implementinglocal energy and greenhouse gas management policies, addressingnational and international climate change targets. For example, inLeicester, UK, local strategies and measures have been implementedover several years to improve energy efficiency of the Council’s ownoperations and to manage city-wide energy consumption andgreenhouse gas emissions. Recently, Leicester participated in aEuropean Commission funded project in India.

The project aimed to provide support at the local level with developinga framework to minimise energy-related contributions to climate changeand air pollution, while giving quality of life benefits. It has used apartnership approach between Leicester, Vila Nova de Gaiamunicipality in Portugal, and Rajkot Municipal Corporation, India. Therole of each local agency in energy management has been investigated.This included a baseline assessment of local energy use, renewableenergy options and climate change issues in each partner city. The mostlocally relevant energy technologies were selected and theirimplementation discussed in the local workshops involving a range oforganisations and individuals, with actions being identified to improvethe local management of energy, such as raising awareness and ensuringeasy access to information.

Peter Webber, Manuel Pardo and DonLack are working with Leicester Energy

Agency (Leicester City Council), UKVasco Ferreira and Luis Castanheira areworking with ENERGAIA (the energy

management agency of Gaia), RuaCândido dos Reis, Nova de Gaia,

Portugal



There have been an increasing number of energy andgreenhouse gas emissions targets at national andinternational levels and frameworks to supportmeasures to meet these targets have been developed.For example, the European Union has a target toreduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent of 1990levels by 2008-12, under the Kyoto climate changeagreement. At national level, within Europe, strategiesand policies have been developed further in recentyears to address climate change and sustainabledevelopment issues. Also, action on managing energyconsumption and greenhouse gas emissions at thelocal and regional level in Europe and elsewhere hasbeen increasing and making a contribution to nationaland international targets.

A recent European Commission supported projecthelped to address issues related to climate change andsustainable development, particularly thoseconnected with meeting increasing energy demand inEurope and Asia and the consequent impacts on theenvironment. The aim of the project was to develop aframework for minimising energy-related contributionsto climate change and air pollution while improvingthe quality of life and developing partnershipsthrough the use of renewable energy in cities in theUK, Portugal and India.

The objectives of the project ‘Partnership support forrenewable energy between European and Asiantowns’ were:• To develop an appropriate framework to undertake

renewable energy initiatives.• To promote sustainable development through

partnerships and the involvement of the public andlocal business.

• To reduce negative environmental impacts related toenergy through good practice, increased awarenessof alternative energy and energy efficiency.

The project draws from the experience of two localareas in Europe - the City of Leicester, Vila Nova deGaia municipality, Portugal) and the local governmentof Rajkot, Leicester’s twin town in Gujarat, India.

MethodologyMethodologyMethodologyMethodologyMethodology

Initially, the project partners undertook backgroundresearch into local energy supply and use in theirtowns in order to establish a baseline for the project,giving a better understanding of the local energy

situation and possible requirements in each town.Information was gathered on existing areas of energyuse and supply, use of renewable energy, energyefficiency and on climate change issues in thepartners’ local areas. Also consideration was given tothe perspectives of local residents and businesses torenewable energy, and the local potential for differentrenewable energy technologies, and possible socialand other non-technical barriers for renewable energyand energy efficiency were also considered.

An important part of the project was to contribute toraising public awareness on the potential for new andrenewable energy projects at the local level.Recognising the value of practical examples of localimplementation of the technologies a number of localenergy-related case studies were developed andtraining material was made available, for example foruse by workshop participants.

Seminars/workshops were arranged in each of thepartner towns discussing strategies for the selectedenergy technologies. It was intended that theworkshops be based on those in the EuropeanCommission funded SIREN project (e.g. Bilderbeek,2002), which used a highly participatory approachinvolving delegates from local government, businessrepresentatives, energy technology experts and localcommunity representatives/residents. This workshopapproach helped with establishing a locally agreedfuture vision for renewable energy or energyefficiency and identified actions to address obstaclesfacing the uptake of individual energy technologies orprojects.

Local energy management inLocal energy management inLocal energy management inLocal energy management inLocal energy management inLeicesterLeicesterLeicesterLeicesterLeicester

Under the Kyoto climate change agreement the UKhas a greenhouse gas emissions target of reducingemissions to 12.5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. Leicester is a city in the East Midlands region ofthe UK. It covers an area of 73 km2, has a populationof almost 300,000, and has an ethnic minoritypopulation of about 29 percent. The textiles industryhas been a significant manufacturing sector in the citywhile other major industry sectors have includedengineering, food and drink, and printing andpublishing. 27 percent of employment has been in thepublic administration, education and health sectorswith 24 percent in the manufacturing sector (1999).Leicester has several years of experience withimplementing local energy and greenhouse gas


management policies, addressing climate changetargets. In 1990, Leicester became Britain’s firstEnvironment City, with the aim of promotingsustainable development in the city.

A range of local strategies and measures have beenimplemented in Leicester to improve energy efficiencyin the Council’s own operations and to manage city-wide energy consumption and greenhouse gasemissions (e.g. Fleming and Webber, 2004). The CityCouncil developed an Energy Action Plan, andproduced its city-wide energy strategy in 1994 (LCC,1994) which considered both energy supply anddemand and means of working towards the CityCouncil’s target of reducing energy consumption inthe city by 50 per cent of 1990 levels by 2025.Leicester also has a target for 20 per cent ofLeicester’s electricity to be obtained from renewableenergy sources by 2020. In 1996 the Leicester EnergyAgency was set up with support from the EuropeanCommission’s SAVE II programme, to implement thestrategy’s recommendations.

To contribute to existing strategies and targetsLeicester City Council carried out a number ofactivities to improve energy efficiency and manageenergy consumption in the domestic, non-domesticand transport energy end use sectors. Energy adviceand information has been made available,opportunities for improving the local management ofenergy through the planning system have beenconsidered. Also, specific measures have been carriedout in support of renewable energy. For example, theCity Council has set up renewable energydemonstration projects (solar water heating panels,passive solar lighting techniques, and the use ofphotovoltaic panels), and the Council has purchased ashare of its electricity requirements from renewableenergy sources.

EnergEnergEnergEnergEnergy management in Vy management in Vy management in Vy management in Vy management in Vila Novila Novila Novila Novila Nova dea dea dea dea deGaiaGaiaGaiaGaiaGaia

The Portuguese Government has a National EnergyStrategy to support a sustainable economic growth.Portugal is increasingly dependent on imports offossil fuels (especially oil) and on the other hand theenergy intensity of the economy is significantlyhigher than the average of the EU-15 member states(CM, 2004). Therefore the Government decided tolaunch an action plan that is aimed to reduce theenergy consumption of the economy for the samelevel of production, and at the same time reduce the

importance of oil in the primary energy. The actionplan sets a 20 per cent reduction target for energyintensity by 2010.

Gaia is the largest municipality of the Portometropolitan area. It has a population of more than287,000 and covers an area of 171 km². Majorindustries in the area are retail, food and drinks,automobile components, services and tourism. Itcontains a mixture of urban and rural areas. Over329,000 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) are used in Gaia,with about 1.2 tonne per capita energy consumption.Energy demand has been rising and has increased at arate of 7 per cent per annum in the last decade. Whileenergy supply relies heavily on fossil fuels about 9percent of total energy supply is met by renewableenergy sources (Energaia, 2000).

In 2000 ENERGAIA, the energy management agencyof Gaia, was set up with the support of themunicipality and European Commission’s SAVE IIprogramme. Since then, there have been a number oflocal policies and measures in Gaia to support theimplementation of energy efficiency and renewableenergy technologies. For example, energymanagement support has been provided to privatesector companies, education on sustainable energyand energy management training has been available,and activities have been carried out to raise publicawareness of energy-environment issues.

Energy in RajkotEnergy in RajkotEnergy in RajkotEnergy in RajkotEnergy in Rajkot

In India, as industrialisation and the standard of livinghas increased, energy demand has increased rapidly,e.g. from 8,000 petajoules (PJ) in 1984, to over 12,000PJ in 1994 (RMC, 2003). However, the role ofrenewable energy in meeting the energy demand wasrecognised within India some time back when aseparate Ministry of Non-conventional EnergySources was set up. Though initially it was concernedwith research, development and demonstration it hasnow become more involved with the commercialisationof renewable energy. Grid connected renewableenergy provides 1 per cent of total electricitygeneration capacity in India (RMC, 2003). Climatechange has begun to be included in nationalgovernment policy, and energy efficiency andrenewable energy are recognised as part ofdevelopment activities in India.

Gujarat has an energy development agency whichruns a number of subsidy programmes for renewable


energy and energy conservation, for example for arange of solar energy technologies and for energyaudit studies in industry.

Rajkot is located in the west of India, has a populationof about 1 million, and covers an area of about 105km2. Total annual per capita power consumption at thestate level is 952 kWh (2001-02) (RMC, 2004a). Thereare a range of industries in Rajkot including theproduction of diesel engines and machine tools,foundries, engineering and automotive industry, andjewellery manufacture (RMC, 2003). Also, there issignificant agricultural activity in the Rajkot area, andthere are many shops and commercial establishmentsin the city.

Rajkot Municipal Corporation is the local governmentand is concerned with infrastructure in the city, whileelectricity supply is the responsibility of Gujarat StateElectricity Board. The main sector of electricityconsumption in Rajkot is industry (just over 50 percent), with a third being residential, and just over 10per cent being commercial uses (RMC, 2004a).

The Rajkot Municipal Corporation purchases

electricity for use in streetlighting, water supply anddrainage, pumping stations, gardens, crematoria andCorporation building (RMC, 2003). Rajkot MunicipalCorporation, recognising the increasing need for theefficient use of energy, regarded the project as anopportunity to promote sustainable energy andreduction in local pollution by raising publicawareness and social networking (RMC, 2004a).

Key energy technologies identifiedKey energy technologies identifiedKey energy technologies identifiedKey energy technologies identifiedKey energy technologies identifiedin each townin each townin each townin each townin each town

It was intended to focus on a limited number oflocally appropriate renewable energy technologiesthroughout the project and in the workshops thatwere held in each town. Information obtained on thelocal potential for different renewable energytechnologies, local knowledge, and informationgathered from discussions with workshopparticipants helped in the selection of energytechnologies.

LeicesterThe technologies in focus in Leicester were selectedwith help of consultation with workshop


participants, discussions, and the use of previousresearch (e.g. LUC and ITP, 2001). The renewableenergy technologies with relatively large resourcepotential in Leicester were identified as:• Solar energy, constituting passive solar designtechniques, solar water heating panels and solarphotovoltaics. There are some examples of the use ofsolar energy technologies in Leicester (e.g. the use ofnatural ventilation at De Montfort University’sQueens Building, the use of solar water heaters onsome of Leicester City Council’s office buildings) andelsewhere in the East Midlands. However, there wasfound considerable potential for the further uptake ofthe technologies, such as the increased use of passivesolar techniques in new housing and in new non-domestic buildings and those undergoing majorrefurbishment.

• Biomass energy. Some use is made of biomassenergy in the East Midlands region, for example somewood is used to contribute to heating in housing andthere has been an anaerobic digestion schemeoperating at a sewage treatment works at Wanlip nearLeicester. There is scope for further uptake of energyfrom biomass, locally.

• Wind energy. Although there are no existing windenergy projects in the city of Leicester and thepotential for this technology in the city environmentis limited there is some potential in the wider EastMidlands, for example for the application of smallscale wind turbines at acceptable locations. It isconsidered there is some potential for furtherpromoting the technology locally.

The renewable energy technologies selected forconsideration in the project and workshop forLeicester, were:• passive and active solar energy,• biomass energy,• wind energy,Solar and biomass energy were technologies identifiedas being particularly relevant locally in Vila Nova deGaia and Rajkot also.

Vila Nova de GaiaThe potential for different renewable energytechnologies in Vila Nova de Gaia were investigated in arecent European Commission funded OptiRES project.It is considered that renewable energies with particularpotential in Gaia are solar energy and biomass energy.


Within Europe, Portugal is one of the countries withhigher annual solar radiation and a large number ofsunlight hours setting the right conditions for the useof photovoltaic systems. There have generally onlybeen small scale applications of photovoltaic, withvery few photovoltaic systems being connected to thegrid. It was considered that there is some localpotential for the use of micro combined heat andpower, for example for public buildings and sportshalls with a high demand for heat and electricity orwhich can be supplied by the same power plant in adistrict heating scheme.

Portugal has a large potential for energy productionusing biomass. Biomass for heat and electricityproduction can be collected from woodlands, publicgardens and parks and wood waste from paper andfurniture industries. In Gaia there is a significantamount of biomass use for space heating, though it ishard to quantify it precisely because transactions ofbiomass for domestic use are carried out away fromthe marketplaces. Bio-fuels (such as biodiesel andbioethanol) also have a great unexplored potential forfuel and electricity production, (ENERGAIA, 2003).

The technologies that have been selected forconsideration in the workshop in the project are asfollows:

• solar water heating,• photovoltaic,• energy from biomass and waste (wood, biodiesel

and biogas),• micro combined heat and power.

RajkotThere is considerable potential for solar energy, tidalenergy, wind energy, and biomass energy in the stateof Gujarat, as shown by figures from the GujaratEnergy Development Agency (RMC, 2003). GivenRajkot’s inland location it was considered that solarenergy and biomass energy were particularly relevantenergy technologies and so it was decided to focuson these two in the workshop.

Local Energy WorkshopsThe workshops which were held in each partner townwere based on the approach used in a previousEuropean Commission funded SIREN project. TheSIREN project included the selection of new/renewable energy research and development projects,and the development of four future scenarios inpartner cities, based on the European Awareness

Scenario Workshop approach. It involved a scenarioworkshop in each of the partner cities involving fourrole groups (e.g. 6-8 people per group) looking at thedevelopment of a future vision, and theme groupsconcerned with the development of ideas to supportthe technologies and contribute to the agreed futurevision (Bilderbeek, 2002). While the project has beenbased on this approach it is recognised that it isnecessary to adapt the workshop to ensure itsrelevance to the local situation, for example to accountfor the local cultural context.

In this project a local energy seminar/workshopinvolving a range of organisations and individualswas held in each partner city. As part of thepreparation for the workshops- case studies andtraining material were developed to help with raisingawareness of the potential for different energytechnologies at the local level.

Case Study and Training Material DevelopmentSome existing case study, information and trainingmaterial has been exchanged between the partners inthe project, including a renewable energy toolkit andan energy education pack for schools, which has beenbuilt on by the partners in this project and maderelevant to the local contexts.

In Leicester, background information on renewableenergy and case studies showing applications ofrenewable energy have been made available forparticipants at the workshop. This has included theuse of a renewable energy toolkit (developed in aprevious EC ALTENER funded ENTHUSE project).This contained information on renewable energy (e.g.policy and financing), a renewable energy matrix(which enables organisations to identify stages theycan progress through in order to have a goodmanagement approach to renewable energy), and casestudies showing the application of different renewableenergy technologies. Also a local future renewableenergy vision, based on existing local and regionalenergy strategies was drawn up for the workshopparticipants. Additionally, information on renewableenergy was available through the East MidlandsCommunity Renewables Initiative webpages, whichhave been managed by the Agency.

In Vila Nova de Gaia, ENERGAIA have used theENTHUSE toolkit to help with the preparation of casestudies and training material for their town’s localenergy workshop. For example, the toolkit’s renewableenergy matrix has been adapted for Portugal and


renewable energy case studies have been preparedand made available over the internet. Someconsideration has been given to local renewableenergy scenarios/strategy.

In Rajkot, RMC has published an educational pack forschools on renewable energy in English and the locallanguage (Gujarati), with the intention of distributingthe packs to schools in the city. Also, the ENTHUSEtoolkit has been translated to Gujarati, and can beaccessed in the municipal library. Some other energyinformation booklets have been produced, providinginformation on renewable energy and electricity tohelp with raising general awareness and promotingrenewable energy. Some case studies on renewableenergy have been prepared.

Outcomes of the WorkshopsIn the workshops, obstacles to renewable energy wereidentified in the partner towns and actions to supportthe uptake of energy technologies were alsoidentified. A common obstacle that was recognised forrenewable energy was a lack of awareness. Otherfrequently occurring comments were - a need forfunding for renewable energy technologies and a lackof education and insufficient knowledge of benefits ofthe technologies. The importance of communicationwas a common theme arising from the workshops.

RRRRResulesulesulesulesult from the projectt from the projectt from the projectt from the projectt from the projectpppppararararartnershiptnershiptnershiptnershiptnership

LeicesterSince the workshop, results of the workshop groupshave been provided to the Leicester City Councilenvironment team and the East Midlands RegionalAssembly to help with the implementation of theLeicester climate change strategy and the EastMidlands regional energy strategy respectively.

Vila Nova de GaiaENERGAIA investigated local renewable energy andenergy efficiency projects. They have followed upcontacts and project ideas from the local energyworkshop.

Help was provided to implement renewable energyprojects, including specific solar energy projects. Anassessment of the technical and economic potentialfor the installation of photovoltaic systems wascarried out for 12 locations (water treatment andpumping stations). The grid connection process andelectricity export licensing for the installation of

photovoltaic systems in 6 locations was underway.RajkotFollowing the seminar, Rajkot Municipal Corporationarranged a public exhibition on renewable energy,which raised public awareness of renewable energyapplications and provided support for local renewableenergy businesses. A large number of people,including school children, visited the exhibition thatwas also covered by the media.

The Municipal Corporation developed plans toestablish an Energy Park, that would further help inraising public awareness of energy.

Since March 2004, the General Development ControlRegulation made it necessary to install a solar waterheating system in new buildings in other MunicipalCorporations in Gujarat. Rajkot Municipal Corporationrecognised the potential for encouraging renewableenergy uptake through enforcement of this regulation.It applied to the Government Ministry for Nonconventional Energy Sources for financial assistanceto help with capacity building and technicalassistance to ensure compliance with the renewableenergy regulation (RMC, 2004b).

Partnerships and Exchange of ExperiencesKey success factors for the partnership approach inthe project included a strong commitment to the aimsand objectives of the project by the project partners,and agreement by the project partners on themethodology based on a previous SIREN project.Also, this European Commission funded projectprovided a strong motivation factor for activities ineach town and between the partners. Itcommunicated the benefits of the project in eachpartner area and the exchange of experience thatplayed an important role in the partnership approach.

Experience and knowledge was exchanged betweenthe partners in a number of ways, for example,through presentations, the exchange of publications,the use of a common methodology, participation inlocal workshops, discussions between the partners,site visits to local sustainable energy projects, andmeetings with local energy technology businesses.

Future DevelopmentsFuture developments to build on this specific projecthave been under consideration. For example, therewere a number of potential local actions that wereidentified in each partner city which need to be carriedforward.



• Bilderbeek, R., 2002, Scenarios: designing,

shaping the future. SiREN 2002 Renewables

for Urban Sustainable Development,

Brussels, June 21st 2002 (http://www.tech-

road.com/siren)

• Conselho de Ministros, 2004, Programa de

Actuação para reduzir a dependência de

Portugal face ao Petróleo. Resolução do

Conselho de Ministros aprovada em 4 de

Novembro de 2004, Lisboa.

• DTI, 2003, Energy White Paper. Our energy

future-creating a low carbon economy, TSO.

• East Midlands Regional Assembly, 2004, The

East Midlands Energy Challenge, EMRA.

• Energaia, 2000, Matriz Energética de Vila

Nova de Gaia, Energaia, Gaia.

• Energaia, 2003, Asia Pro Eco Background

report for Vila Nova de Gaia. September 2003.

• Ferreira, V. Castanheira, L. Gouveia, J. B. e

Estrela, A., 2004, Plano de Acção para o

Desenvolvimento das Energias Renováveis

- Caso do Município de Vila Nova de Gaia,

Simpósio sobre Energias Renováveis em

Portugal ENER’04, Figueira da Foz.

• Fleming, P.D. and Webber, P.H., 2004, Local

and regional greenhouse gas management,

Energy Policy, 32 (6): 761-771.

• Land Use Consultants and IT Power, 2001,

Viewpoints on sustainable energy in the East

Midlands: A study of current energy projects

and future prospects. Final Report, Land

Use Consultants, London.

• Leicester City Council, 1994, The Leicester

Energy Strategy, Leicester City Council,

Leicester.

• Leicester Environment Partnership and

Leicester Partnership, 2003. City of

Leicester. Climate Change Strategy,

Leicester City Council, Leicester.

• Rajkot Municipal Corporation, 2003,

Background Report. Asia Pro Eco

Programme.

• Rajkot Municipal Corporation, 2004a, Asia

Pro Eco Programme – Rajkot. Partnership

Support for Renewable Energy between

European and Asian Town, Brussels,

November 15th 2004.

• Rajkot Municipal Corporation, 2004b,

Proceedings of the Rajkot Renewable

Energy Seminar. Sunday 6th of June 2004.

There is potential for a related partnership approach,to enhance capacity, exchange experiences andknowledge, information and ideas that could be usedfor other projects in other energy/environment areas,including energy efficiency.There is potential forexploring further local partnerships within individualcountries and regions, which can help to develop theknowledge and skills of the participants through theexchange of expertise.

Also, this approach has the potential to be relevant tothe utilisation of opportunities for improving energyefficiency arising from the Joint Implementation and theClean Development Mechanism under Kyoto protocol.

ConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusions

The workshop approach in the project enabled keylocal stakeholders, such as local political decisionmakers, business representatives, residents andtechnology experts, to participate in the development

of strategies and the identification of policymeasures to support the implementation ofrenewable energy or energy efficiency technologiesat the local level. The workshops raised renewableenergy awareness locally, helped identifyingobstacles to renewable energy at the local level andactions to support the uptake of renewable energy/energy efficiency technologies.

For an effective partnership of this kind it isconsidered important to build a strong commitmentto the aims and approach of the project by theproject partners, and clear benefits from the projectoutlined. There is potential to replicate the approachfor energy efficiency technologies and for it to beused in other local/regional areas. There is thepossibility of exploring further related partnerships inthe energy/environment field at the local levelbetween European countries and developingcountries, and also more local partnerships withinindividual countries and regions.¶

Heritage Album 75

Heritage Album - 1

1

GINGEE FORT

Spread across a rocky terrain of 435 acres, the fort circuit stretches over5 kilometres enclosing a cluster of hills and hillocks with a maximumaltitude of 250 metres.

The magnanimous scale and sophisticated fortifications are an outcomeof the defence strategies adopted by various dynasties spanning eightcenturies - ranging from the cattle-rearing Konar community of the 13th

century to the Nayak chieftains of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th

and 16th centuries and later. the Khans of Bijapur Sultanate andMarathas in the 17th century to the French in the late 18th century.

1. Rajagiri - the highest and the first hill to be fortified in Gingee

Text and Photographs:Kamalahasan Ramaswamy

Architect, trained in documentation with theHistoric American Engineering Record,Washington DC and worked on various

conservation projects with the IndianNational Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage,

Pondicherry. Presently practicing inCoimbatore, Tamilnadu .

The above data are part of his academicthesis on the ‘Conservation of Gingee Fort’

76 Heritage Album

2. Pondicherry gate and the lengthy outwork of the east side3. Ruins of the Royal quarters and Venkataramana temple

The most enduring rule was that ofthe Nayaks (deputants of theVijayanagara Rayas of Hampi) whoestablished an independent regimewith Gingee as their capital for aperiod of about 150 years from theearly 15th century.

This was the golden age of Gingeewhen the fortifications werelengthened and strengthenedbesides the construction of severalcourtly buildings and monumentaltemples with a sophisticated water-management system.

2

3

Heritage Album 77

4. Drawbridge across a natural ridge leading to the eighth gate of Rajagiri5. Tiers of fortifications rising above the steep rocks and wild vegetation

5The major factors influencing the design ofa fort are the directions of threat, nature ofsite and techniques of warfare. Gingee is anoutstanding example of military architecturereflecting the above-mentioned influences.

Sealed on the north and south by flowinghills the site is gifted with dramaticcontours, cliffs, plateaus, water basins andsprings marking it ideal for a retreat.Originally guarded against cavalry, archersand trekkers the fort later had to bedefended against artillery besides housingmagazines for gun powder and towers forcanons.

The fort has withstood the ravages of timeand the weapons of war mongers. Howevertoday, it is yielding to the wild vegetationtaking root from the mud infills of theramparts and creeping out through its wallssplitting the dry-jointed stone masonry.

4

78 Heritage Album

6. Venugopala and his consorts – a fine 14th C relic carved on a rock outcrop.7. The royal bathing tank with a sophisticated water management system.

While the 800 ft high Rajagiri servedas a retreat fort, the 500 ft highKrishnagiri was more like a pleasurefort with its ensemble of mandapas,temples, water tanks, mahals andgranaries. The site offers stunningviews of the environs with asalubrious weather beating the heat ofthe place.

The picture would be complete with aprocession of the king on elephant-back, accompanied by his regalia onhorses with hefty soldiers manning theuninterrupted ramparts of the fortgleaming in sunlight and reflected fromthe filled waters of the broad moatbelow.

6

7

Heritage Album 79

8. Ensemble of mandapas, temples and a mahal on top of Krishnagiri9. View of Krishnagiri across the 13 metres wide rampart and an equally wide moat

9

8

80 Heritage Album

Heritage Album - 2

PAINTED HOUSES OF HAZARIBAGH

The Hazaribagh District originally covered the entireNorth Chotanagpur plateau, which is the northern tractof the massif divided by the Damodar River from eastto west, with the Ranchi plateau lying to the south.Hazaribagh has always been a tribal settlement, thepicture being confused by de-notification andextinction of tribes, and their anthropological definitionby experts. These people were of indigenous ancestry,evidenced by the archaeological heritage of the regionand their folk traditions.

Text and Photographs:Bulu Imam

Director, Sanskriti Centre,Hazaribag, Jharkhand

Sanskriti Centre was brought into being byBulu Imam and his family as a continuing

process in the last decade. The Centre has avery good Museum and Art Gallery. The

Museum contains the completearchaeological record of the Hazaribagh

region from the Lower Palaeolithic to thepresent. The Art Gallery contains fifteen

styles of painting in the Khovar and Sohraischools and over three hundred paintings

are exhibited

The Moghuls referred Hazaribagh as Kukrah (meaning cockerel)and the British as the Junglebury District. The prehistoricheritage of Hazaribagh is one of the richest in the world. It hasdisplayed a consistency of cultural character and tribalcontinuance of great tenacity in the face of continuousdestructive development, dams, industry and coal mining.

Today the region is part of the new tribal state of Jharkhand(meaning Forest Land). This is an area rich in archaeologicaldeposits, megaliths and dolmens, and rivers that are consideredsacred such as the Damodar River, and hundreds of sacredgroves (sarna).

The mural painting tradition found in the Hazaribagh villagestrace their source back to the pre-historic rock art of the region,which goes back to 10,000 BC.

1

2

1&2 Prajapati House, Kharati

Heritage Album 81

3&4 Sohrai animal wheel, Sohrai art5 Ghatwal house, Bhelwara6 Kurmi house, Jorakath

This particular art form is called Khovar after the room of thebridegroom, and relates to an ancestral cave dwelling origin(kho=cave, var=bridegroom) related to the painted caves ofthe Mirzapur, Vindhyan, and Jharkhand complexes calledKhobar. It is full of plant forms and fertility symbols whichare related to the Chalcolithic mandalas in the rock art, andwild animal forms tracing their genesis to an earlierMesolithic period found in the rock art. The godna or tattoomotifs are found in the prehistoric rock art made by thewomen of the Malhar tribe (Godnakari) - the metal casters,and symbolize a protective emblem. The highlight of Khovarart is the painted walls of the house to welcome thebridegroom who is sometimes compared to Indra on an

The village mural paintingtradition is a matriarchal one,and for that it is a sacredtradition followed in anessentially original matriarchalindigenous order. Marriedwomen practice the art and useit to decorate houses especiallyduring the marriage andharvest seasons. Young girlslearn the art from their mothersand aunts.

3 4

5

6

82 Heritage Album

7&8 Traditional symbolism derived from pre-historic rock art9,10,11,12 Interiors of village dwellings

A song goes,

“Where was the cow born ?

Under the Sakhua tree the cow was

born.

Why was the cow born ?

The cow was born to give strength to

the earth.”

elephant, with decorations of the wildanimals of the forest who are thecompanions and plants symbolizingfertility.

The harvest art of Sohrai derives itsnomenclature from the Mundaric wordsoroi, meaning ‘to whip or beat’,relating to cattle, and finds its root insoro meaning ‘to close the door’, andthus points to the first domestication ofcattle in a Mundaric society. Itsmanifestations directly derive from therock art in which the ‘Tree of Life’, afavourite West Asian and Indussymbol, may be traced to the rock art ofpre-Mesolithic origin. The highlight ofSohrai art is the welcome of the cattle,which are taken to the jungle on themorning of the festival day, and atnoon brought in over the aripans madeon the floor with rice gruel. The headconsists of a clay cone with a sprig oflatlatiya grass representing Devi, andthe welcome aripan is drawn in theform of cattle hooves similar to the prehistoric rock art. We see here theearliest worship of cattle dating back tothe beginnings of agriculture in India.

7

8

9

10

11

12

Reviews 83

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ‘charter’ as ‘awritten grant of rights, by the sovereign orlegislature’; ‘a written constitution or description ofan organization’s functions etc’.

According to Herb Stovel (formerly in ICCROM) “Norules, but generally charters contain principles, whichprovide guidance for professionals and practice,helping clarify how historic buildings and sites shouldbe treated. Principles may be translated as‘guidelines’- applied principles- in local jurisdictionand practice” In other words, charters lay down theguiding principles for appropriate response to specificconservation issues and, as Jack Gillion (ConservationOfficer, Edinburgh City council) has observed, are notmeant to be taken as “instant and all-inclusive perfectprescriptions”.

‘The Charter for the Conservation of unprotectedarchitectural heritage and sites in India’ has beenrecently adopted by the members of the IndianNational Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)at its national convention for adaptation. Rather thana ‘grant of rights’ the charter seems more like ‘adescription of the function of the organization’. Itpurports to draw upon the experience of INTACH inconserving the unprotected architectural heritage andsites of India within an institutional framework for lasttwo decades.1

The need for such a charter is justifiable for variousreasons. It is rooted in to the history of conservationin India, the positive developments that have takenplace in the field of conservation around the world,the need to respond appropriately to the concerns of arange of unprotected heritage along with recognisingthe uniqueness of the Indian culture and traditions.

UNESCO provides a platform via ICOMOS(International Council on Monuments and Sites) forexperience and knowledge sharing between

conservation professionals worldwide. The UNESCOconventions relating to cultural heritage ratified bythe member states, are legally binding on the nationalgovernments. These address complex issuesemerging at different points in history of the worldwith concern for the safety and preservation ofcultural heritage. Some examples relate to theprotection of heritage from armed conflict betweennations2 and massive public works projects3,restitution and return of cultural objects that arestolen or illegally exported4, prevention of illicit tradeand transfer of ownership of cultural property5etc. Italso helped to establish international cooperation forthe conservation of world heritage sites of culturaland natural significance considered to be ofoutstanding universal value6.In 1964, through the Venice Charter a newphilosophical approach towards heritage conservationwas conceptualized. The Venice Charter wasformulated by ICOMOS. Since then the formulation ofnew charters has continued to be one of theprominent activities of ICOMOS.

These charters are flexible doctrinal texts for specificsectors of cultural heritage. Over the years they havedealt with principles of conservation, restoration,

Reviews THE CASE OF THE INTACH CHARTER

By Vishakha Kawathekar, Paromita De Sarkar andGurmeet S. Rai

From this issue onwards, the Review sectionof this publication will provide a neutralplatform for debates on national andinternational policies/charters for heritageconservation. This issue initiates the debateon the recently introduced ‘Charter for theConservation of unprotected architecturalheritage and sites in India’. A Copy of theCharter is also enclosed with this issue.Feedback on the charter can be emailed to :

Chief Editor, [email protected]

84 Reviews

renovation and replacement, principles ofmaintenance, repair and stabilization, rehabilitationand modernization, reconstruction and relocation,principles for the preservation of archaeologicalheritage, historic areas (ensembles), and othercategories of monuments and sites. Charters havebeen instrumental in determining standards for thepreservation, restoration and management of culturalheritage that could be adapted worldwide. For examplethe Burra Charter7 developed the principles detailed inthe Venice Charter to suit local Australianrequirements.

The charters also highlight key developments incontemporary thinking about conservation of culturalproperty. For example the Nara Document onAuthenticity, 1994 conceived on the spirit of theVenice Charter broadened conventional thinking inconservation at that time to give greater respect tocultural and heritage diversity in conservationpractice on the basis of authenticity.

‘A Charter is meant to result from long periods ofinclusive debate; many of the ICOMOS charters took10 or 12 years to develop (in case of the VernacularArchitecture Charter, 15 years). The goal is not justthe ‘product” (the Charter) but forms of participatorydebate which brings the ideas discussed intomainstream understanding and use’8. In no case havethey ever had legal status unless governments adoptthem. In the history of charter making each of thecharters have brought forward a new / freshphilosophical base which differentiates them fromother parts of the world or a definite concern thatwhich addresses, contributes and expands the area ofconcern of the profession.

Today the Venice Charter and the Charter of Krakow9

are the documents that set down the principlesguiding our management of the historic environment.However, though there is much good in thesedocuments, locked into their philosophy areassumptions about the relationship betweenarchitecture, society and history, which, not onlyundermine the character of our historic environmentbut damage the very relationship between builtheritage and the community that they seek to protect.10 Robert Adam expresses concern regarding thesedocuments, which revolves around the lack ofreference to age, time or the passage of time,generality of definitions of heritage and the lack ofany indication to just how a community identifies itsheritage in practice. He has cited a lack of clarity in the

aim for conservation of heritage where there seems tobe a central role for archaeological and historicalmethodology. The idea of buildings or places as‘evidence’ or representations of historical ‘moments’is an archaeological or historical concept. However inplaces of continuous habitation where there is still apiling up of evidence, history has not stopped.

Therefore, as the definition of monuments extendscharter by charter until it becomes an all-embracingheritage and encompasses so much of our every daybuilt environment, the above principles just do not fit.These aspects highlight the fundamental concerns forthe conservation of ‘heritage’ in India.

‘Heritage’ in India spans plural cultural traditions.This diversity as also the economic, political andsocial disparity creates circumstances whereconservation can potentially cause conflicts.Therefore the approach to conservation could vary,depending on the, geographical and socio culturalcontext. Given that traditions are dynamic, ensuringcontinuity in the processes of material/ buildingconservation could be the underlying rationale for acharter for India. This approach to conservationpresupposes active participation of the community..

To develop a charter there is a need for a widerparticipation of conservation professionals to arrive ata common framework that would nevertheless keepevolving while debating and resolving thecomplexities that make up the conservation scene inIndia. Further, with the inappropriate existinglegislations and inadequate infrastructure andfinances for conservation, there is a need to formulatea framework of guiding principles within which allthese institutions, bodies and individuals worktowards making conservation decisions sensitive tothe Indian context. A lot of work has already beenundertaken by the conservation professionals andtoday there is a greater understanding of thevocabulary to guide the future of conservation inIndia.

The ‘Charter for the conservation of unprotectedarchitectural heritage and sites of India’ authored byINTACH comprises four sections namelyPart I: PrinciplesPart II: GuidelinesPart III: Management and EducationPart IV: Professionalism

As the name suggests the key words in the title of the

Reviews 85

charter are “unprotected”, “architectural heritage” and“sites” (in India). It appears to imply that ‘unprotectedsites’ are those that have tangible architecturalheritage and may or may not have associational value.The fundamental question here is; Are sites that haveonly associational significance (i.e. sites of intangiblesignificance for example battle fields) fall under thiscategory?

As explicitly stated in the document, the charter hasemerged out of INTACH’s experience of twenty yearsin the field of conservation. However in the absenceof any reference to review and/or assessment of worksundertaken by various conservation practitioners thisclaim remains unsubstantiated.

A list of definitions of terms used in the charter isneeded for removing ambiguity about certainexpressions for example ‘heritage’, ‘protected’,‘unprotected’, ‘site’, ‘indigenous practices’, ‘livingheritage’ etc. In the case of ‘living heritage’ thecharter recognizes the unique resource of masterbuilders, stapathis, sompuras, raj mistris and doesnot mention crafts persons such as potters, weavers,inlay workers, painters etc. The concept of‘jeernodharan’, has been listed in what can beunderstood as the ‘preamble’ of the charter ‘as thesymbiotic relationship binding the tangible andintangible architectural heritage of India as one of thetraditional philosophies underpinning conservationpractices’. Conservation pre supposes imbibing multicultural practices that transcend castes, communitiesetc. Reference to any one such practice is notdesirable in a national document.

Though the charter has been adopted by the membersof INTACH, it has not been specified to whom itapplies. If it is applicable to all professionals workingin conservation of ‘unprotected architectural heritageand sites’ in India, it seems that the charter has notemerged out of a dialogue among a sufficientlyrepresentative forum. One of the programs thatillustrates this process is the method followed by theGetty Institute to develop the ‘Chinese Principles forConservation’ where conservation professionals andother stakeholders deliberated over considerableperiod of time, studying various context and subjectsof concern to arrive at the principles.

PPPPPararararart I: Principlest I: Principlest I: Principlest I: Principlest I: Principles

The first section provides a background for anapproach. The charter includes some concepts and

parameters, which have been defined in theinternational charters. In article 1, on ‘whyconserve?’- it describes ‘unprotected architecturalheritage as embodying values of enduring relevanceto contemporary Indian society, thus making it worthyof conservation.’ It looks at ‘building skills’ as theliving heritage that needs to be protected andrecognizes revival of building skills as an opportunityfor employment.

In its article on ‘what to conserve?’, the article 2.1states ‘the process of listing must determine thecharacteristics of significance and prioritise them’.This needs clarity as it seems to say that valuejudgement is being made on significance. Theparameters on which ‘significance’ would be ‘graded’for the purposes of prioritizing have not been speltout. An attempt is made in article 2.2 to explain whatcomprises ‘living heritage’. Concepts such as‘contemporary logic under pinning conservationpractice so that it retains the meaning for the society’in article 2.3 can cause much confusion in the mindsof the readers. While the concern of the author can beappreciated on one hand on the other it must berecognized that it is the timelessness of the culturalvalues that needs to be the logic for conservation andnot contemporary logic. In other words the threat liesin interpretation of the articles. Changing the use of ahistoric fort for example the Quila Mubarak in Patialainto a shopping mall or fashion shows at Humayun’sTomb could be interpreted as ‘contemporary logic’.

In this charter it has been recognized thatconservation practice is ‘a multi cultural activity’ andstates that ‘indigenous knowledge practices varyregionally and cannot be considered as a singlesystem operating all over India’ however the author/shave over simplified the western ideology to only asingle ‘ideology of minimal intervention’ in article 2.6.It is inappropriate to attribute all complexities toourselves and simplicities to the ‘others’. Many of usin the conservation profession do recognize thecontributions of the ‘western minds’ to conservationthrough the various international charters. Thearchitectural heritage has been recommended to beseen under three categories, Ia, Ib, and II. Therecommendation finally is to use the ‘indigenouspractices’ in the conservation of the unprotectedarchitectural heritage.

In article number 2.7 it notes that the ‘overarchingobjective for undertaking conservation of unprotectedarchitectural heritage and sites is to establish the

86 Reviews

efficacy of conservation as a development goal’. Thechallenge here is how we understand ‘development’,there is a need to qualify this statement as what does‘development’ mean. It is felt by many conservationplanners that ‘values of conservation’ shoulddetermine development thereby ensuring betterquality of life, conservation of man made and naturalresources as explained in the article 4.6 on ‘IntegratedConservation’.

In the articles on authenticity, conjecture and integrity(article 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 ) efforts have been made to definethese concepts from the perspective of continuingtraditions. Article 3.3.2 states ‘the concept of anevolving integrity accepts the introduction of newarchitectonic elements, materials and technologieswhen local traditions are insufficient or unavailable’.The introduction of new elements may reflectcontemporary aesthetic ideals as modern additions toold buildings’. The aspect of compatibility of materialsand application of science in understanding materialsand making sympathetic choices of materials has notbeen included. This is a very important aspectgoverning use of modern materials so that the historicbuilt fabric is not damaged in the course of‘conservation’ or ‘repair’. For example in the case ofSri Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar cement plaster hasbeen applied on the external surfaces of the historicwalls while undertaking repairs of the historicmasonry. Sulphates from the cement plaster can beseen on the inner surfaces of the shrine due to thisapplication. These sulphates are now causing decayin the frescoes. Vinyl stickers have been used inplaces to replace frescoes (in the absence if continuityof tradition). It is important to examine the values andattributes of materials herein, to decide the choice ofmaterials being examined to replace historic materials.

Articles 3.5 and 3.6 which relate to rights andsensibilities of communities are highly meaningful.‘Conservation ethics’ (articles 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11) havebeen prescribed without explaining to which ‘grade’ ofbuildings these are applicable (as graded in article2.6). This information is extremely critical.

The article 3.12 titled ‘Demolish/ Rebuild’ wouldundermine the efforts of many conservationpractitioners and activist amidst communities whohave been striving hard for the past many years forthe preservation of their heritage. In the given clausethe assumption is that what will replace the historicbuilding will be built in traditional materials andtechniques. The critical question here is at what point

of time can it be assumed that, ‘all strategies toconserve the unprotected architectural heritage andsite are inadequate, then the option of replacing itshould be examined’ and to then allow for demolitionand rebuilding. This clause gives immense scope forinterpretation and allows for possible demolition ofheritage.

Allowing a ‘historic structure to decay gradually onceit has outlived its significance’ is a very misleadingarticle (3.12.3). The meaning of ‘significance’ is notconsistent in all articles. While in 2.1 the charterclearly states that ‘the objective of conservation is tomaintain the significance of the architectural heritageor site’ it further rightfully states in 3.8 that‘interventions should not compromise significance ofthe structure under consideration’, in 3.12.3significance seems to imply contemporary usefulnessor association. These contradictions in the concept of‘significance’ across these sections are alarming.

Since conservation ethics are self regulatory in nature,therefore it is assumed that they are applicable to theconservation professionals. In article 3.13.1 on‘Relationship between the conservation architect andthe community’ it is stated that, ‘it may becomenecessary to temper the role of the conservationarchitect as an expert professional by taking intoaccount the desires and aspirations of the localcommunity and the traditional practices of raj mistris’.The question here is who will ‘temper the role’ andhow ‘will it be done’? Since ethics are self regulatoryshould the conservation professional himself/ herselfbe sensitive to the communities and roles of thetraditional practitioners. Hence this ‘tempering’ has todone by the parties concerned and not by a third. Thisunderstanding rightly so would be the basis forsustainable conservation practices.

PPPPPararararart II: Guidelinest II: Guidelinest II: Guidelinest II: Guidelinest II: Guidelines

Article 4, titled ‘conservation objectives’, dealsretaining of visual identity, adaptive reuse, approachto restoration/ replication/ rebuilding, employmentgeneration through revival of traditional buildingskills, application and advantage of using localmaterials and traditional technology. It is stated in 4.6,‘Integrated conservation’, needs the engagement of amulti disciplinary team and in 4.7 it is stated that ‘theobjective of conservation should be to sustain thebuilding and/or the traditional skill and knowledgesystem…’ ‘Integrated Conservation’ (4.6) and‘Sustainability’ (4.7) are mutually reinforcing

Reviews 87

concepts. It is necessary to have a principle thatintegrates the two concepts.

Article 5 is an elaborate section on ‘Listing’ and itlays down the format for listing. The article makesimplicit that listing is an activity that INTACH hasundertaken in the past and proposes to continuedoing so in more coordinated manner. It also proposesto prepare an inventory of crafts persons. It statesthat the buildings and sites must be included in thelisting to merit conservation. In its ‘criteria forselection’ of a ‘property worthy of listing’, one of thethree following attributes need to be present in thebuilding; historic significance, historic integrity orhistoric context.

Although clear in most aspects, this article contains aglaring contradiction vis-à-vis article 2.6 and thesection on ‘Grading’ (5.13). While 2.6 recommendsthat a ‘comprehensive inventory (see article 5) ofextant heritage, both tangible and intangible, andseparate it into two categories… namely Ia, Ib, and II’(interventions are proposed based on thiscategorization); 5.13.2 recommends ‘that buildings andsites be classified as Grade I *, I, II and III indescending order of importance’. While crossreferences have been made with article 2.6,discrepancies between the two articles need to becorrected.

In the article 6.1 the charter recommends that thetechnical guidelines formulated for INTACH by SirBernard Fieldon in 1989 are followed albeit to theextent that they are in consonance with theimperatives of this charter. It further recommends theneed for region specific guidelines. However it neitherspecifies who will develop these guidelines and northe process that will be followed.

International experience and the experience ofINTACH and others, clearly reveals that urbanconservation can only be successful through theparticipation of all stakeholders- government,planning agencies, local communities etc. This area ischallenging and complex where concerted efforts areneeded. While INTACH has adopted listing as animportant area of its work, it would be a great serviceto heritage of India if INTACH were to make urbanconservation its mandate as well.

In article 6.4, ‘Role of Conservation Architects’,conservation has been described as a ‘multidisciplinary activity’, which could perhaps be

replaced to read ‘inter disciplinary activity’. Thescope of work of the conservation architect has beenexplained as inclusive of advocacy and awarenessgeneration among stakeholders.

PPPPPararararart III: Management and Educt III: Management and Educt III: Management and Educt III: Management and Educt III: Management and Educaaaaationtiontiontiontion

In this part clearly describes the role of INTACH inmanagement of heritage through its elaborate networkof chapters. In article 7.2.5 it is stated that ‘To furtherfacilitate its goal of protecting architectural heritage;INTACH should establish inter disciplinary advisorycommittees at the regional and national level. Thesecommittees should act as clearing – houses forconservation plans, assessment reports, scientificstudies, funding proposals, legal and administrativemeasures for conserving the unprotected architecturalheritage’ this article severely undermines the spirit ofthe article 7.1.1 on role of local communities where in‘local communities or individuals must be entrustedwith responsibilities to conserve their own heritage.Where outside expertise is necessary, localstakeholders must be made active participants at allstages of the conservation process. All decisionsregarding the conservation and management ofheritage must be taken in consultation with localcommunities in consonance with the 73rd and 74th

Amendment to the Constitution of India’. Therecommendations should be based on a synthesis ofthe two articles whereby the role of the community isinstitutionalized via ‘local and regional committees’.Sadly the tenor of the article 7.1.1 is patronizing in theextreme. Assuming as it does that the local communityhas no connection with ‘their own heritage’.

The tone of the charter is at times instructional (tillarticles 6). ‘Role of INTACH’ (7.2 and few of 7.3) readsmore like the recommendations of another party ratherthan a statement of INTACH’s own agenda for action.Other articles in 7.3 deal with the scope of work ofgovernment institutions and establish the ‘Role ofINTACH’ as recommendatory.

In article 8, ‘Education and Public awareness’emphasizes the need to ‘entrust’ the responsibility forcare and maintenance of heritage to local communityand how heritage education should be incorporated atall levels of formal education. The article also stressesthe need for awareness generation and training of allgroups of society. It recommends that theconservation professionals be trained to appreciateand integrate traditional and western practices ofconservation. Various measures are outlined to

88 Reviews

achieve this. It is however not clear who theserecommendations are targeted at?

PPPPPararararart IVt IVt IVt IVt IV: Profes: Profes: Profes: Profes: Professionalismsionalismsionalismsionalismsionalism

The Article 9 includes the ‘Code of professionalismcommitment and practice’ for the conservationprofessionals. Has this code emerged from anappropriate representative body of conservationpractitioners like in other disciplines of architecturalpractice? Whether the code addresses the issuesfaced in the profession is debatable.

Article 9.1.8 prescribes that conservationprofessionals ‘observe and uphold INTACH’sconditions of engagement and scale of charges, whichwill be prepared, in the due course, in consultationwith conservation professionals’! This tantamounts tosigning on a blank sheet of paper, for terms andconditions of engagement and scale of charges canonly be agreed to once these have been arrived atthrough a consultative process reflecting experiencefrom the field.

Often clients who cannot afford to pay exorbitant feesneed reports for fund raising for a project. Thussaying that conservation professionals ‘Not prepareproject reports in competition with other professionalsfor a client without payment or for a reduced fee(except in a competition conducted in accordance withthe competition guidelines approved by INTACH’(article 9.1.14) and similarly asking them to ‘Complywith guidelines for project competitions and informINTACH of their appointment as assessors for acompetition’ (article 9.1.17) where INTACH itself is acompetitor is not entirely reasonable. INTACH as anNGO advocating heritage conservation at variouslevels (including government and the community) hasa potential to provide the perfect platform for a

participatory process for addressing the concerns ofthe profession.

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusion

It is implicit in the adoption of the charter by INTACHmembers that they are committed to the articlesmentioned in the charter. Assuming that this charter isfor concerted heritage conservation and alliedactivities, aspects such as code of professionalcommitment and practice (for conservation architects)need not be included in this document.

The Charter is thought provoking, but its many ideasand thoughts have not been woven into a cohesivewhole. Also, there are several contradictions thatneed to be reconciled. The range of aspects includedin this document is extremely vast- from theoreticalframework, technical guidelines, functions of INTACHchapters, recommendations to governments onmatters related to fiscal measures etc. Thus it wouldbe useful to rework the document into sub documents,which address the various user groups while theCharter confines itself to theoretical framework andprinciples for conservation in India.

The process of developing the charter should havebeen more participatory with extensive dialoguebetween the conservation professionals, INTACH’schapters, Government etc. Involvement of INTACH’sregional chapters in a dialogue with conservationprofessionals would have been a unique and avaluable way of understanding the discipline in thecontext of regional settings. Dialogue withorganizations such as the Archaeological Survey ofIndia and State Department of Archaeology wouldenrich the principles and bring about a betterunderstanding between the practitioners both withinthe government as well as outside the government.¶

Notes and References1 Refer to the INTACH charter which states,

“Drawing upon the experience of the Indian

National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage

(INTACH) in conserving the unprotected

architectural heritage and sites of India

within an institutional framework for two

decades”)2 The 1954 Convention for the Protection of

Cultural Property in the Event of Armed

conflict (Hague Convention)

3 The 1968 Recommendation concerning the

preservation of Cultural property endangered

by Public or Private works.4 The 1995 Unidroit Convention on Stolen or

Illegally Exported Cultural objects.5 The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the

Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit

Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of

Cultural Property6 1972 the Convention for the Protection of

the World

Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage

Convention)7 The Burra Charter of the Australian ICOMOS

for the conservation of places of cultural

significance 19818 Herb Stovel, formerly in ICCROM9 The Charter of Krakow on the Principles for

Conservation and Restoration of Built Heritage

of 2000 was an EEC initiative10 Adam, Robert “Does heritage dogma destroy

living history?” in Context 79, May 2003

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“Context : Built, Living andNatural” does not only record andevaluate documentation andconservation methods for built andnatural heritage, but also relatespeople’s role in the process byrecording community activities andinvolvement. It encompasses thecomplete milieu of people, place andbuilt form within the Indian scenarioand provides a common platform forprofessionals, NGO’s, donors/funding agencies, governmentofficials and academicians to expresstheir views. The journal isspecifically relevant for architects,conservationists, environmentalists,NGO’s, social scientists, historians,academicians, researchers andplanners.

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Address .........................................................................................................................

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Biennial Conference of the European Association ofSouth Asian ArchaeologistsDate: 4 – 8 July 2005, Location: LondonThere will be a series of panels with subjects ranging fromprehistory to palaces of the colonial period.Dr. Robert Harding, [email protected]

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conference will be held at twin venues and will havesimultaneous, concurrent sessions on Environment, Population& Sustainable Development, HIV/AIDS, Alcohol Abuse, DrugAbuse, and Human Rights. International experts from Healthand Medicine, Environment Conservation, EnvironmentRestoration, Environmental Legislation and Enforcement,Human Rights Information, Education & CommunicationAgencies, Population, Information, Trade and Industry, Helplines and Adjuvant Groups, Youth and Social Workers’Organizations will convene and share their expertise at [email protected]

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Journal of the Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage

V o l u m e II I s s u e 1 - S p r i n g / S u m m e r 2 0 0 5

ContextB u i l t , L i v i n g a n d N a t u r a l

DRONAH is an all encompassing, interdisciplinary

organisation that involves highly motivated

professionals from various disciplines. We share a

vision for a better quality of life for present and future

generations - without foregoing the links from the

past. In this pursuit, it is our aim to actively promote

conservation and traditional practices in lieu with

modern technology for sustainable development.

We recognize the need for knowledge sharing and

mutual interaction for this purpose. The idea of the

organization is to understand and document the

complex matrix of our environment including

traditions, art, architecture and people. The

organization aims for conservation and

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Cover Photo: Traffic crossing near Balban's Tomb, New Delhi

Documents

Context - DronahFront elevation of one of Jorawarmalji’s haveli, the fifth haveli in the northern row of the Patuon ki Haveli group. This belongs to the first half of the nineteenth