Funding Agency: Chhattisgarh State Planning Commission

Duration: December 2022 to May 2023

Principal Investigator: Dr Anubhav Pradhan

Co-Principal Investigator: Smt Shivi Joshi (Dharohar Sanrakshan Samiti)

This project studied the built heritage of Barsur—a historic settlement in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh—to understand its spatial and cultural continuity with reference to its historic architectural expressions. Notable in archaeological and oral records as a city of 147 ponds and temples, Barsur was the capital of the Chhindak Nagavanshis from the eleventh to the thirteenth century CE. The project documented select sites of architectural and cultural significance in the settlement and studied the typology and style of Barsur’s built heritage. It sought to understand the interdependencies between this rich monumental heritage and the settlement’s current social and economic profile as well as the challenges faced by stakeholders on ground in the upkeep of these sites.

Research Assistant:

Ms Divya Chand

Divya Chand is an urban researcher, architect, and co-founder of Lokal Habitat Labs. Her experience includes working with government stakeholders and industry players on strategic projects on self-constructed housing, sustainable built environments and urban design in India and Europe. Divya has held fellowships with the union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Gov. of India and the Indian Institute for Human Settlements. She holds an MSc. in Urban Studies from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and a Bachelor of Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Delhi.

Funding Agency: IIT Bhilai Innovation and Technology Foundation

Duration: April 2023 to March 2025

Principal Investigators: Dr Anubhav Pradhan, Dr Anindita Ghosh, Dr Souradyuti Paul

The ninth largest state in India by landmass, Chhattisgarh is known for its fertile soil, assortment of bioregions, manifold mineral resources, and a storied heritage of arts and crafts rooted in the traditions and customs of its indigenous people. However, so far only five products and one logo have received GI tag in the state: this indicates a lacuna which must be addressed with rigorous, grassroots examination of the agricultural, natural, manufactured, handicraft, food stuff, and industrial products in the state whose GI tagging may benefit the communities involved in their manufacture. This project aims to identify products in Chhattisgarh across all defined categories which may benefit from a GI tag. It aims to examine the existing status of GI in Chhattisgarh from a livelihood perspective. It also aims to propose technology interventions to make manufacture and dissemination of GI tag products more efficient

Project Assistant:

Smt Ambika Basant

Ambika Basant has completed her graduation from the Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur (C.G.). She has done her M.Ed. from Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur (C.G.). Her area of specialisation is guidance and counselling in education.

Funding Agency: Indian Council of Social Science Research

Principal Investigator: Dr Rajkumar Eslavath

Funding Agency: Department of Science & Technology, Government of India

Principal Investigator: Dr Rajkumar Eslavath

Funding Agency: Government of India, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Smart Cities Mission)

Principal Investigators: Dr Jose Immanuel and Dr Anindita Ghosh

Funding Agency: JPN National Centre of Excellence in the Humanities, IIT Indore

Duration: July 2024 to June 2026

Principal Investigators: Dr Anubhav Pradhan

A 44 km stretch demarcated by generations of master planners into rural and urban segments, the Yamuna’s floodplains in Delhi are home to a vast array of built form and settlement typologies. A considerable portion of this region witnesses agricultural activity, particularly the four revenue estates—Bela, Inderpat, Chiragah (north), and Chiragah (south)—totalling approximately 8000 acres which were carved out of the floodplains in the 1930s. Bela Estate, occupying khasras 169 and 170 from the old railway bridge to the Delhi Secretariat, abuts the eastern flank of Shahjahanabad. This project aims to understand the planning history of the Yamuna in Delhi. It will examine the unsteady institutionalisation of planning apparatuses in Delhi with respect to Bela Estate, delving into the planning archive to delineate the manifold ways in which local governance and civic groups have consistently recalibrated the river’s place in the city from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century.