India has 52 sites lined up for UNESCO World Heritage tag

Currently, India has 40 Sites in the UNESCO World Heritage List and 52 sites in the UNESCO Tentative List of which 6 were added in the year 2022, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development G Kishan Reddy informed the Lok Sabha today.

Inclusion of any property in the Tentative List is a prerequisite condition for onward inclusion in the World Heritage List.

Augmentation of Tentative List is a continuous process. As per UNESCO Operational Guidelines, 2021, only one property, either cultural or natural, can be nominated for the inscription process annually. Additionally, inclusion of any site requires fulfilment of criteria, meeting the condition of authenticity and integrity and providing justification of “Outstanding Universal Value,” the minister explained.

India’s 6 sites that were included in the UNESCO Tentative list during 2022 are:

*Geoglyphs of Konkan Region of India

*Jingkieng jri: Living Root Bridge Cultural Landscapes in Meghalaya.

*Sri Veerabhadra Temple and Monolithic Bull (Nandi), Lepakshi (The Vijayanagara Sculpture and Painting Art Tradition) in Andhra Pradesh.

*Sun Temple, Modhera and its adjoining monuments in Gujarat.

*Rock-cut Sculptures and Reliefs of the Unakoti Range in Tripura.

*Vadnagar – A multi-layered Historic town, Gujarat.

The detailed list of all the sites is available at:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/in