Preservation Practices in India

Neha Jain is an architect,and historian who specializes in heritage tourism projects. Her major projects include Gobindgarh Fort & Town Hall in Amritsar among several others.She is also a visiting faculty at School of Planning & Architecture, Bhopal. Neha is a photographer, explorer and artist. She lives in New Delhi with her husband.

This work examines the practical issues involved in conservation of architectural heritage in India. To explore the role of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India, Government agency) and INTACH (Private agency), this dissertation analyzes their mandates/legal frameworks, which defines the scope of work for respective agencies. The Jaisalmer Fort conservation project is examined to research the practical, social, and legal issues involved in the practice. The work done by both agencies is analyzed. ASI and INTACH are both facing issues in enforcement and hence trying to update their administrative system. Both these agencies are major entities in their respective fields (government and non-government) working nationwide to conserve heritage resources. This dissertation attempts to find out where does conservation practice presently stand and what future opportunities are possible with recent major changes in their working methodology.