Poster Paper Proc. of Int. Conf.

on Advances in Civil Engineering 2011

Planning for Conservation of Heritage Areas in Old Goa: Issues and Strategies
Shaikh Ali Ahmed1 and Dr. B. Shankar2
Research Scholar and Planning Assistant, North Goa Planning and Development Authority, Panaji, E-mail: shaikhali.ahmed@yahoo.com 2 Associate Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore, Mysore E-mail: doddi43@gmail.com (Corresponding author)
1

Abstract: Old Goa known is for its heritage and having rich culture, world famous monuments viz. churches and temples, inherited natural scenic beauty and attractive beaches. It was formally a Portuguese colony and now it is one of the important tourist destinations in India. The Old Goa has a number of heritage sites and monuments. The UNESCO has declared Old-Goa as World Heritage Site in 1986. The heritage areas have come under tremendous threat due to non comprehensive approach by the agencies involved in conserving including people at large. The paper deal with heritage monuments and their significance assessment which were evaluated by using historical, architectural, environmental and cultural criteria, conservation issues and measures for planning and development of heritage areas in Old Goa. Index of Terms: Heritage Areas, Significance Assessment, Conservation, Strategies.

II. BACKGROUND OF GOA Old Goa was the capital of Portuguese and Port city in 16th century. It was a principal city of Portuguese Eastern Empire internationally renowned for its rich heritage, culture, famous monuments viz. churches, convents, temples and beaches; visited by hundreds of thousands of foreign and domestic tourists each year; and one of the most popular holiday destinations; and is also known as the Rome of the East. It has a number of churches and convent; most of these churches date back to the 16th century and are best examples of Manueline and Gothic architecture having very intricate detailing and ornamentation. Most of the important churches are located in Old Goa, on the East of Panaji, about a distance of 10 kms. The area around Basilica of Bom Jesus has been declared as a preservation area and admeasures approximately 801 ha, and it includes about fifty sites and buildings. The churches have been declared as World Heritage Monuments by UNESCO in 1986. A native of Goa is called a Goan in English, Goenkar in Konkani, Gos (male) or Goesa (female) in Portuguese, and a Govekar in Marathi. Old Goa, the burial place of St. Francis Xavier, known for its unique cultural atmosphere, which is the result of the influences absorbed after 450 years long Portuguese rule. The influence has left a deep impact on the local traditions in all spheres and has formed a distinct cultural identity of the people of Goa. St. Francis Xavier had come to Goa to bless this land and its people. His mortal remains and spirit still resided at the imposing Basilica of Bom Jesus at Old Goa. St. Francis Xavier was an instrument to carry with him the gospel of Jesus but more than that he also carried a way of life of people, their ethos and a rich culture in which perhaps dance, music, arts, crafts, architecture, festivals, fun and frolic were all entwined with each other. Goa, therefore, has become A symbol of religious coexistence, tolerance, and a unique example of cross fertilization of cultures in our vast, multi-racial, multi-lingual, multidimensional complex society. It has developed a strong identity of its own and that is why Goa was chosen, though it was a difficult choice with so many identifiable roots that exists in an ancient country like India. Goa is known for natures own beautiful gift that combines all the three aspects of heritage namely natural heritage, built heritage and cultural heritage. 51

I. INTRODUCTION The Old-Goa has as many as fifty monuments and sites. It encompasses individual heritage buildings of fine architectural quality including archaeological remains, ruins, buildings and monuments. The rich built heritage component of Old-Goa is a part of cultural heritage of the people which symbolizes the interactions of the cultures and in particular that has a number of churches and convents. Most of these churches are constructed way back in the 16th century and are the best examples of Manueline and Gothic architecture. These churches have very intricate detailing and ornamentation reflecting the past and playing an important role in shaping the community to know about the ancient culture, way of life, architecture, level of development, building techniques, and use of material, art and other aspects of the society of a particular period.Therefore, it becomes necessary to appraise the repository of heritage structures, which are to be carefully preserved, conserved and managed. Seven out of fifty monuments are located in the central area and the areas around these monuments have come under tremendous threat due to increase in core functional activities, decay, congestion and new incongruent developments. Therefore, the heritage needs to be addressed sympathetically for effective conservation of heritage areas. The paper deals with the heritage areas, significance assessment of heritage monuments, issues of heritage areas and conservation measures proposed for conserving the heritage areas in Old Goa in harmonized manner. 2011 ACEE DOI: 02.ACE.2011.02. 29

Poster Paper Proc. of Int. Conf. on Advances in Civil Engineering 2011 III. HERITAGE AREAS OF OLD-GOA Goas prime attraction for tourists is 105 kms. Long palm fringed coast line. All beaches unbroken for several kilometers have fine stretches of sand called silver sand, natural beauty of hills, and of course the rich built heritage of the land. OldGoa is declared as world Heritage site by UNESCO. The area around the heritage monuments admeasures approximately 801.00 hectares and includes about fifty sites and buildings. The churches located in Old-Goa, have already been declared as World Heritage Monuments by UNESCO in 1986. IV. THE MONUMENTS IN OLD-GOA A. THE B ASILICA OF BOM JESUS: The construction of Basilica of Bom Jesus was initiated in 1594 at the cost of the bequest of the Dom Jeromino Mascarenhas; the church was consecrated in the year 1605 by Frey Dom Aleixo de Menezes. The professed house was completed in 1585, a part was accidentally burnt down in 1663 and the same was rebuilt in 1783. The mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier who died on sea voyage to China on Dec.2, 1552. The casket of mortal remains of the Saint is in this church. Built with laterite, its exterior excluding the faade is without plaster, tiled roof and cruciform on plan. It has elements of five schools of Architecture, Roman, Ironic, and Doric, Corinthian, and Composite and also built in Renaissance and baroque style. Augustinians deserted the church and convent. The building collapsed on 8th September, 1842. The faade and half tower fell in 1931 and 1938.

Fig 6. Remains of St. Augustine Tower and Church

D. THE CHURCH AND CONVENT OF ST. CAJETAN The Church and Convent of St. Cajetan was built during 1656 700 after the establishment of the order of theatines when the Pop Urban VIII was sent members and D. Pedro Avitabilis to spread the gospel in the Kingdom of Golconda but, they could not enter the Golconda and finally resided in Goa and built the magnificent church. It has an Italian renaissance with baroque external Corinthian style built with laterite blocks and lime plastered. An Italian monk of the theatines order built with diminutive dome church was built on the lines of the Roman Basilica. V. SIGNIFICANCE ASSESSMENT The monuments of high significant value having historical, architectural, environmental and cultural importance have been assessed by using evaluation criteria. The a) historical significance: trends and events, b) architectural significance: architectural style and architectural design c) environmental: compatibility with heritage environs and land mark status and d) cultural: living style, customs, traditions and faith and different grading were done by giving scores. The top five monuments were identified. Basilica of Bom Jesus stands first followed by Se Cathedral, Church of St. Cajetan, St. Francis Assisi and Lady of Monte (see Appendix I). VI. INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT IN GOA The UNESCO has declared seven monuments as world heritage monuments and sites namely: (a) Chapel of St. Catherine, (b) Church of St. Francis of Assisi, (c) Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, (d) Basilica of Bom Jesus (e) St. Cathedral, (f) Church of St. Cajetan and (g) Church and Convent of St. Augustine in the year 1986. The other institutions those are responsible in identifying and managing the historical and architectural heritage structures in Old Goa namely Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology. The local authority has also identified few heritage buildings for management and conservation. There are many more structures having significant value needs identification. 52

Fig 2. Basilica of Bom Jesus

Fig 3. Casket of mortal of St.FrancisXavier

B. CONVENT AND CHURCH OF ST. FRANCIS ASSISI The origin of Church of St. Francis Assisi and convent attached to it can be traced to the humble beginnings made by eight Franciscan Friars who arrived in 1517; secured from the Governor few houses that belonged to a deceased Thanadar and he put persistent efforts and constructed a small chapel with three Altars and a Choir. The church consecrated to the Holy Ghost was built in 1521 which was later pulled down. The church was re-built on the same spot in 1661 by retaining only the existence of the earlier church. It was built with laterite blocks and plastered with lime; the exteriors of the church were Tuscan order, while the main entrance was in Manueline style. The main Altar has Baroque with Corinthian features. C. REMAINS OF ST. AUGUSTINE TOWER AND CHURCH The St. Augustine Tower and Church was built on holy hill, in 1602 by the Augustinian Friars who arrived in Goa in 1587 with the religious separation in 1835.Tower was built with Red laterite blocked structure, and finished with lime plaster, mixture of Manueline and Hindu Art.The 2011 ACEE DOI: 02.ACE.2011.02.29

Poster Paper Proc. of Int. Conf. on Advances in Civil Engineering 2011 VII. PLANNING ISSUES OF HERITAGE AREAS Four of the top five ranked Monuments are in the core area which has a high level of historical and cultural significance, therefore it requires a great deal in managing the surrounding area from the heritage significance and planning point of view. The area around these monuments has been clearly marked as preservation area in the Regional Plan of Goa 2021, the area needs to be readdressed. The ASI doesnt have control over the areas beyond 300 metres. The area beyond 300 metres has come under the threat of new developments. Regulating the heritage buildings and land development in environment require altogether a different approach and the total area to be treated as composite area for heritage conservation. The problems encountered in the heritage area are as follows: i) There is a great pressure around the heritage building for the development of high rise buildings but, the buildings of sizeable height will cause invisibility to the monuments. ii) Haphazard developments that are coming up in vicinity of heritage areas and precincts are greatly affecting the aesthetics and dis-harmony with the existing monuments. iii) The area beyond 300metres has no control over the new development that has caused greater threats to the monuments and its surrounding environs. iv) There are many illegal structures that have come up within a distance of 500 metres near the chapel of St. Francis Xavier and Se Cathedral. v) Improper management of the heritage monuments including repairs and areas showing a signs of decay which needs to be arrested. vi) Improper management of traffic leading to congestion and parking problems in the area near the church of St. Francs Assissi and Basilica of Bom Jesus. vii) Environmental problems such as; disposal of solid waste, improper location of site for disposal of solid waste within the trail area as per the Regional Plan 2021 calls for relocation of site. viii) The informal sector activities on pavements and footpaths have caused congestion for the pedestrians. ix) Poor public participation due to lack of education and awareness about the heritage areas. x) The heritage areas lacks in proper management of infrastructure at the places national and international tourists interest. xi) Environmental degradation has caused due to old and dilapidated existing structures within 300 metres from the protected monument, needs rehabilitation. xii) Inadequate development control for the area including the sub-division regulations, facades and landscapes. VIII. HERITAGE STRATEGIES The buildings of historical and architectural importance need to be identified, conserved and protected for the future generations to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, the heritage areas including monuments influence needs to be protected through proper conservative measures in a 2011 ACEE DOI: 02.ACE.2011.02.29 53 holistic approach. The proposed strategies to include; i) Heritage conservation measures are to be initiated for the entire trial areas without restricting the area to 801 hectares as per Goa Regional Plan 2021. The guidelines for development of heritage conservation need to be framed for regulating the entire trail area. ii) Diverse skylines at different distances from the Monuments are to be maintained for the planned development of the area up to a distance of 1000 meters from each of the monuments. iii) Re-routing of vehicles in the core area for the appropriate management of traffic flow and pedestrian movement is to be initiated. A separate organized pay-parking provision in the adjoining properties to church of St. Francis Assissi is to be made by acquiring 20,000 sq.mts initially for about 100 car parking spaces and further expandable up to 300 car parking spaces. iv) Establishment of harmony in facades of existing monuments to be made obligatory so that the significance of the area is protected. v) Maintaining streetscape and developing landscapes in the central area to enhance the image of the city. vi) Inclusion of transfer of development rights (TDR) in the development control for the heritage areas for those owners who lose their floor area (FAR) in building their properties in conservation zones. vii) Provision of intra-non polluting electric vehicle services to the age old people and children to visit all the monuments of the area. viii) Repairs and renovation in the area to be discouraged but to be carried out with strict supervision from the conservation specialists. ix) New site for disposal of solid waste outside the trail area is to be identified and properly managed. x) The informal sector presently occupying the footpath is to be accommodated in the market area which is 100 metres away from the heritage areas. CONCLUSIONS The heritage areas and monuments in Old-Goa are of high very significant value. These areas are to be properly managed, maintained and planned so that it can be passed on to the future generations without losing its character. If these issues continue to exist in these sensitive areas then the area will naturally grow unplanned leading to mismanagement of the area. The policies on built cultural heritage protection needs designation of heritage conservation for entire trail areas, framed within the traditional Indian culture and cross cultures. For an effective integration or assimilation of the experience in the local context, education of the public and awareness of heritage monuments and areas should be put on top of the agenda. Old-Goa has its own cultural and built Heritage and calls for public participation to protect the heritage areas losing from its identity.

Poster Paper Proc. of Int. Conf. on Advances in Civil Engineering 2011 REFERENCES
[1] Chidambara Swamy and Shankar B (2010), Conservation Strategies for Heritage City: Mysore, International Journal of Recent Trends in Engineering and Technology, No.5, Vol.3 May. [2] Hali, Prasanth(2006), Conservation of Heritage - The Kerala Experience, Institute of Town Planners India Journal, Vol.3 No.4 pp-55-60, New Delhi. [3] The Government of Goa, Regional Plan of Goa 2021 Town & Country Planning Department, 2009. [4] Government of India, The Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act No. 24, 1958. [5] The Goa Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act, 1978 and Rules, 1980. [6] Government of Goa, The Goa Town and Country Planning Act and Rules, 2000 [7] Government of Goa, Planning and Development Authority (Development Plan), Regulations, Panjim Planning and Development Authority, 1989, Panjim. [8] Government of Goa, Tourism Master Plan: GOA- 2011 Final Report Consulting Engg. Services (I) Ltd., Department of Tourism. [9] Jain. A.K. (2008), Book Review of Heritage and Environment: An Indian Diary by Shyam Chainani, Journal of the Development and Research Organisation for Nature, Arts and Heritage, Vol5, Issue1, pp-187-188.

BIOGRAPHIES Shaikh Ali Ahmed received M.Tech in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Mysore, Mysore. He is working as Planning Assistant in North Goa Planning and Development Authority, Panaji. Presently, he is pursuing his Doctoral degree in the University of Mysore, Mysore. His research interests to include heritage conservation and heritage legislation B. Shankar received the B.E. degree in Civil Engineering in 1984, M.U.R.P degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 1989 and Ph.D. degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 1997 from the University of Mysore, Mysore. He is working as Associate Professor in Urban and Regional Planning at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore, Mysore. His research interests to include Urban Planning, Community Development, Heritage Conservation, and Planning Legislation.

APPENDIX- I

Note: Maximum Score - 50

2011 ACEE DOI: 02.ACE.2011.02.29

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