Following the heritage walk organised by the Gujarat Institute of Housing and Estate Developers (Gihed) last week, around 10 real estate developers have evinced interest in adopting or buying heritage property in Ahmedabad, on the first day of the Gihed property show here. A 4,000-sq ft heritage gallery at the venue of the three-day event at the university convention centre near Helmet crossroads has also received a good response from developers as well as visitors.
To support the efforts of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to preserve and promote heritage property in the city, the Ahmedabad Heritage Foundation (AHF) — a Gihed initiative — signed a memorandum of understanding with the AMC. Municipal commissioner IP Gautam and Shekhar Patel, president of Gihed, inked the pact at the property show, which began on Friday. Commenting on this, Ahmedabad mayor Kanaji Thakore appreciated the initiative of the AHF towards creating awareness about Ahmedabad’s rich heritage and placing the same on the world map.
Patel said that certain formalities and guidelines needed to be worked out with the AMC for the betterment of heritage preservation efforts. “We are planning a meeting with the respective authorities after the Gihed property show,” he said.
“The main reason for being part of the delegation for Spain is to understand their culture and model for improving the system, which can help in attracting tourists. This will benefit our efforts towards preserving our heritage,” said Jaxay Shah, president of the Gujarat chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India.
The motive of this initiative is to take Ahmedabad to the top in terms of quality of life along with economic growth, said Debashis Nayak, advisor of the heritage cell of the AMC. “This will boost tourism on the basis of heritage richness, like other countries,” he said.
