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The restoration of the 100-year-old Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai has won the ‘Award of Excellence’ in this year’s UNESCO Asia-Pacifc Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

About Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya

• Originally named Prince of Wales Museum of Western India
• Location: Bombay (Mumbai)
• Built to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales (later George V, king of the United Kingdom and emperor of India)
• The museum was renamed in 1998 after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire.
• Architecture :The Indo-Saracenic style
• The museum houses Indus Valley civilization artefacts, and other relics from ancient India from the time of the Guptas, Mauryas, Chalukyas and Rashtrakuta.
• The museum is a part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai’s world heritage property

The complete list of 2022 awarded projects comprises:

Award of Excellence

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai, India

Award of Distinction

• Stepwells of Golconda, Hyderabad, India
• Zarch Qanat, Yazd, Iran
• Neilson Hays Library, Bangkok, Thailand

Award of Merit

• Topdara Stupa, Charikar, Afghanistan
• Nantian Buddhist Temple, Fujian, China
• Domakonda Fort, Telangana, India
• Byculla Station, Mumbai, India
• Sadoughi House, Yazd, Iran
• 25 Chivas in Kathmandu, Nepal

Special Recognition for Sustainable Development

• West Guizhou Lilong Neighborhood, Shanghai, China

UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards

• They are given with in the region Asia Pacific.
• Objective : Motivate the protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are initiated by any individual organization under private sector or institutional organization
• In 2020, UNESCO introduced the Special Recognition for Sustainable Development and an updated set of Awards criteria to highlight the contribution of cultural heritage to sustainable development within the broader framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development