The city’s trams have the potential to bag a Unesco heritage tag and an application should be submitted for the honour, a Calcutta High Court-appointed advisory committee on trams unanimously agreed at its first meeting on Monday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam had appointed the members of the committee earlier this month.
The committee agreed that a comprehensive mobility plan should be prepared for the city and trams should be a part of it instead of being isolated from other modes of public transport, a member said.
The opinion of police, the public works department (PWD) and the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) will be sought and the organisations will be requested to send their representatives to the next meeting.
Some members proposed that people with expertise in providing specific solutions should be invited to the meetings.
The current members can raise points and make suggestions but they may not have the expertise to provide solutions, which is why those who have the expertise to give solutions could be invited, said a member.
“Everyone agreed that Calcutta’s trams deserve a Unesco heritage tag. The committee agreed that we should proceed to apply for the tag,” said a member. But another member added that even if the non-government
members prepare the application, it must have the seal of the state transport department, the custodian of Calcutta’s trams, to be eligible for the tag.
The court had in June asked the state government to form a committee that would look into how trams can be preserved. The state transport department created a 14-member committee and submitted the names to the court. The court selected some of the 14 and added one new member.
The committee also discussed the need to modernise the tram fleet and conduct a survey on whether commuters wanted to use trams as a mode of public transport. “Many members believe that a narrative is being propagated that trams have few takers. They said a survey will give the actual picture,” said a member.
A senior official of the state transport department, who is also a member of the committee, refused comment on the discussions.