Help at hand for city’s heritage?

Will the forming of a new body comprising government officials, activists and NGOs, solve the many problems that plague Hyderabad's heritage structures? The State government pulled off the Heritage Week with much hoopla and fanfare. But the last day of the Heritage Week, saw several organizations and individuals converge to discuss how to "preserve our heritage" at the grassroot level. The meeting that was attended by representatives of Forum For A Better Hyderabad, INTACH AP, Department of Tourism and renowned architects in Chowmahalla Palace on Tuesday afternoon, ended with the attendees concluding that they will approach the government to implement a policy to conserve the city's heritage. One salient feature of the policy will be to pressurize the government to implement the proposal to waive taxes and grant subsidies to notified heritage properties that are under private ownership. Another important feature was the development of a single body - a network comprising government, activists and NGOs, that will make rules and ensure our heritage buildings, rock formations, lake bodies and open spaces are conserved. While it all looks good on paper, will this provide the much-needed respite to our heritage woes? We find out.