Video: Destroying a Priceless Part of Delhi’s Urban Heritage - An interview with Ram Rahman

The Hall of Nations and Hall of Industries at Pragati Maidan were designed by architect Raj Rewal and engineer Mahendra Raj in 1972. These buildings have received international acclaim and are a part of INTACH’s list of ’modern heritage’ sites. The ITPO, however, which comes under the Union Ministry of Commerce, has decided to tear down these building as a part of a larger overhaul of the Pragati Maidan area to make way for more ’modern’, ’state of the art’ buildings. Conservationists and architectural associations from around the world have written to the government asking them to reconsider, from the Pompidou Centre in Paris to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. However, the government’s Heritage Conservation Committee recently stated that these buildings do not classify as ’modern heritage’, as heritage buildings must be at least "60 years old"