We wish to refer to recent news reports published in the Indian media, which created a great deal of confusion by claiming that the historical fort cities of Gwalior and Orchha in Madhya Pradesh (India), “have been included in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Cities programme.”
The language used in these reports, and especially the headlines, are misleading and regretfully confuse several UNESCO programmes.
First and foremost, we wish to clarify that the two cities, Orchha and Gwalior, have not been inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, which currently includes 38 Indian sites.
We are pleased to note however that Orchha and Gwalior have been selected by the state Government of Madhya Pradesh as pilot cities for the Historic Urban Landscape programme and survey that UNESCO New Delhi will undertake jointly with the Tourism Department of Madhya Pradesh. This programme will serve as a tool for a heritage-based urban development for both cities by the state Government of Madhya Pradesh.