Ashima Krishna Report on the status of Agra, home to three World Heritage Sites 1 Agra: The city of monument al urban contradictions Project Report on JNNURM initiatives and how they have fared in Agra March, 2012 Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 2 Agra: Contradictions in the City ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Proximity to New Delhi and the Golden Triangle ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 The focus on Taj Mahal ................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Taj Mahotsav (Taj Festival) ............................................................................................................................................................... 25 2.3 Disconnected administration and management ............................................................................................................................ 27 3 Agra’s recent urban development initiatives amidst its historic landscape .......................................................................................... 32 3.1 Agra’s City Development Plan: Summary and Critique .................................................................................................................. 33 3.2 The reality of JNNURM in historic Agra .......................................................................................................................................... 40 3.2.1 Municipal Services: Water Supply, Sewerage and Solid Waste Management ........................................................................ 44 3.2.2 Transportation ......................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Research made possible through Global Heritage Fund’s Preservation Fellowship Ashima Krishna Report on the status of Agra, home to three World Heritage Sites 2 3.3 Other initiatives in Agra .................................................................................................................................................................. 51 4 In Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 60 List of Figures Figure 1 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 2 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 3 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 5 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 6 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 7 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 8 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 9 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 10 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 11 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 12 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 13 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 14 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 15 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Research made possible through Global Heritage Fund’s Preservation Fellowship Ashima Krishna Report on the status of Agra, home to three World Heritage Sites 3 Figure 16 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 17 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Figure 18 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 List of Tables Table 1 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Table 2 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Table 3 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Table 4 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Table 5 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Table 6 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Table 7 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Table 8 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Table 9 ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Table 10 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Research made possible through Global Heritage Fund’s Preservation Fellowship Ashima Krishna Report on the status