In a major setback, central government murdered the chance of Delhi being the first ‘world heritage city’ in India. On Thursday, central government withdrew the name of Delhi from the race to be named the world heritage city just one month before UNESCO was to review nominations from across the world. The planning to participate in this race was going on for more than a decade followed by meticulous preparation over the past five years.

In a huge embarrassment for India, the country is out of the running at this year’s World Heritage Committee session as Delhi was its only entry. “Delhi was the only nomination submitted last year for the world heritage tag,” said an official.

Government claims this decision has been taken because it would have conflicted with plans for infrastructure and construction in the capital. We worked so hard on it since the conception of the idea. The government’s decision is heart-breaking,” said AGK Menon, Convenor of INTACH. ” At least we should have been consulted before taking a decision. The area nominated is barely 1.5 per cent of the total area of Delhi,” he said, countering the government’s argument.