Culture ministry hails Jaipur’s World Heritage tag

Jaipur, July 6 (IANS) The Ministry of Culture on Saturday lauded the inscription of Jaipur city in the Unesco World Heritage Site list, which is now the 38th Indian site to enter this list.

Calling the move a landmark achievement, an official statement said that culture minister Prahlad Singh Patel has thanked the global community for recognizing the historic and cultural importance of the pink city.

The decision was taken in the 43rd Session of the World Heritage Committee held at Baku, Azerbaijan.

With this, India now has 38 World Heritage Sites, that include 30 cultural properties, 7 natural properties and one mixed site.

"India's nomination was initially recommended by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) as Deferral, but the World Heritage Committee debated it and decided to inscribe it on the list," the Ministry said.

It also shared excerpts of the presented proposed statement of the outstanding universal value before the World Heritage Committee.

"The City of Jaipur is an exceptional urban example in indigenous city planning and construction in South Asia.

"Besides an exemplary planning, its iconic monuments such as the Govind Dev temple, City Palace, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal excel in artistic and architectural craftsmanship of the period," the Ministry added.

The proposal also called the historic walled city and Rajasthan's capital an "expression of the astronomical skills, living traditions, unique urban form and exemplary foresighted city planning of an 18th century city from India."