Corridor plan discussed at Mahabodhi temple meeting

Gaya: Concerns over maintaining Unesco guidelines while taking forward the proposed Mahabodhi Corridor project dominated the biennial meeting of the Bodh Gaya Temple Advisory Board held in Bodh Gaya on Monday.

Members stressed the need to preserve the sanctity and conservation standards of the World Heritage site even as development plans are pursued.The advisory board, a high-level supervisory body, guides and oversees the Temple Management Committee in ensuring proper upkeep and security of the Mahabodhi temple, the seat of Buddha’s enlightenment. The meeting, held at a hotel in Bodh Gaya, was chaired by Sri Lankan high commissioner Mahishini Colonnee.The 25-member board includes 10 diplomats representing various Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka. Magadh division commissioner Safeena AN is the ex officio member-secretary of the committee.The key issue discussed at the meeting was the conservation and maintenance of the shrine and the need to establish harmony between certain provisions of Unesco guidelines and aspects of the proposed Mahabodhi Corridor aimed at the development and beautification of the World Heritage site.

When the Mahabodhi Temple was notified as a world heritage site in 2002, the Unesco issued a set of guidelines for its conservation and preservation of ambience. These include a ban on construction within a radius of 500 metres from the shrine’s outer wall and restrictions on the height of buildings within a 2-km radius of the shrine.A portion of the proposed Mahabodhi Corridor project, particularly the plan relating to the construction of Birla Market in the vicinity of the shrine, is said to be at variance with these guidelines.At the meeting, the Laos consul general is learnt to have emphasised the need to strictly adhere to the guidelines issued by the world cultural body. There was near unanimity among members that the UNESCO norms must be honoured in both letter and spirit.Some members expressed the view that the performance of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in conserving the temple had not met expectations and requirements of the shrine, and that the ASI needed to be more proactive.

The ASI has been entrusted with conservation of the shrine.Prashant Agrawal, additional secretary (South) in the ministry of external affairs, who also participated in the meeting, urged the ASI to intensify its efforts. He said the ministry would pursue the matter and ensure that the shrine’s conservation requirements are fully met.Gaya district magistrate Shashank Shubhankar made a detailed presentation on the current status and ongoing development projects in and around the shrine.Consul generals of Thailand, Laos, Mongolia and Bhutan attended the meeting. A representative of the Buddhist spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama was also present.