INTACH - Pondicherry

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage Pondicherry

Background

INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) is an all India organisation, with headquarters in New Delhi, dedicated to heritage conservation and awareness. It has more than 140 chapters all over the country.

INTACH Heritage Center 62 Aurobindo Street, Pondicherry

The INTACH chapter was started in Pondicherry in 1984. The INTACH Conservation Cell was set up in 1998 with an initial grant-in-aid from the Town and Country Planning Department. Since then, it has been working with the Government of Pondicherry and the public to conserve the architectural heritage and townscape of Pondicherry.

INTACH collaborates with Institut français de Pondichéry (IFP) and Ecole francaise d’Extrême Orient (EFEO) on various projects. It was the late Françoise l'Hernault (1937-1999) of EFEO who initiated the movement to protect the architectural heritage of Pondicherry. This work is now being continued by a team of dedicated architects, engineers and other interested persons.

INTACH works in co-ordination with the Public Works Department, Town and Country Planning Department, Pondicherry Planning Authority, Department of Art and Culture, Department of Education, Pondicherry Tourism and Transport Development Corporation and individual Heritage-building owners.

Organisation

The INTACH team comprises of architects, planners, engineers and environmental activists who try to preserve the architectural heritage of the town by creating awareness, mediating between the government and public, offering architectural and engineering consultation to heritage building owners, documenting and inventorying heritage structures.

Objectives

To act as an interface between the government and the public
Help in renovation and restoration of heritage buildings
Provide consultancy to building owners and architects
Help frame conservation and architectural control guidelines
Keep heritage list updated and prepare documentation
Hold seminars, exhibitions and publish information material
Promote tourism and cultural heritage
Improve the quality of urban environment

Our working policy

In the absence of a Heritage Regulation law to protect heritage value buildings from demolition,

Our first preference is to help conserve and 'modernise' heritage buildings, so that they fulfill the contemporary needs;
If we are unable to save a heritage building, then we would like to ensure that the new building that comes up is in harmony with the traditional streetscape.

Funding Requirements

The Town and Country Planning Department, Government of Pondicherry had provided funding for an initial period of three years from 1998-2001. Since then we have been running our organisation mostly from our own earnings from design consultancy and donations from some private individuals. We hope to get another basic funding, to maintain a skeleton staff and resources, sanctioned from the Government shortly. However, being a public interest organisation, our objective is not to depend on a single source of funding but to have multiple sources like: our own earnings, Government grants, project funding (like Asia Urbs), support from individuals and businesses, grants from Foundations. The more funding we have, the more work we can do not only to protect Heritage but also to improve the quality of urban life.

We welcome your help in any way to support our work.

Working with INTACH Pondicherry.

If you are interested in working with INTACH Pondicherry, please contact us:

Ajit Koujalgi
Chief Architect, Co-Convenor
Telephone: 944 3535 085

Ashok Panda
Co-ordinator
Telephone: 944 3345 563

Arul. A
Architecht
Telephone: 944 3438 001