NEW DELHI: With Delhi's chance to become the first World Heritage City in India in limbo, efforts are now being made to give the capital a fourth world heritage site in Lotus Temple.
The proposal to make the Baha'i house of worship a world heritage site was pitched in 2015 by the temple trustees, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India. They had appointed Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) to prepare the nomination dossiers.
The site was included in Unesco's tentative list of world heritage sites in April 2014. The Delhi government has supported the move and the tourism department is eager to pitch in.
Delhi currently has three world heritage sites - Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb. Conservationists said the inclusion of Lotus Temple in Unesco's list would be a matter of a huge pride for the capital. "Though the Lotus Temple is a modern architectural work, its roots can be traced to religious symbolism of ancient India," said a conservation expert.
In terms of footfall, the site has been dubbed one of the most visited sacred buildings in the world, surpassing even Taj Mahal. Experts said there is no other lotus-shaped structure in the world as famous as the Baha'i temple in Delhi. Opened to the public in 1986 following a decade of construction, it has welcomed over 70 million visitors regardless of their religious affiliations.
The nomination process still has a long way to go. The draft nomination dossier is currently under preparation and has to undergo periodic submissions and reviews by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It will then be submitted to Unesco for a complete check in September, 2016 and the final dossier will be submitted by February 1, 2017. This will be followed by a site review by International Council on Monuments and Sites in October, 2017.
A final decision will be taken by the world heritage committee in June, 2018. Experts said the chance of Lotus Temple getting the prestigious tag was high due to its unique design and craftsmanship.