Assessing the acceptance of cultural policies among heritage homeowners: a study of Ahmedabad’s heritage TDR implementation, capacity building, and satisfaction

This paper examines the influence of the Heritage Transfer of Development Rights (HTDR) among heritage property owners and explores how its successful implementation has been hampered based on the study of two indicators—policy awareness and implementation efficiency—which are vital for generating initial interest among stakeholders and leading them to use the policy. The HTDR policy at Ahmedabad, introduced in 2015 as an incentive program supporting the conservation of privately owned properties within the old city of Ahmedabad, has failed to generate much interest among the local community. As per the documents available online on the website of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in the last 9 years, only 81 properties with TDR certificates. It is thus very pertinent to identify the reasons for its lack of influence and acceptance. In this study, a mixed method was adopted involving a closed-ended survey and semi structured interviews. The inferences are based on the responses gathered from heritage property owners currently living in heritage properties and those living elsewhere. The heritage properties were identified based on a random sampling method from the listed heritage properties spread across the 13 wards of the walled city. Based on the research findings, although most property owners are aware of the HTDR policy and find it an essential tool for conserving heritage in Ahmedabad, awareness of the whole mechanism and application process is significantly limited. The implementation of the HTDR policy is highly inefficient, and more awareness must be generated among owners. Moreover, more training or technical assistance needs to be provided to them to help them access the incentive program. The lack of a proper and comprehensible policy brief or document further hinders the situation. Overall, property owners are not completely satisfied with the HTDR policy and suggest critical revisions, such as reducing the file clearance time, calculating a new TDR amount, and modifying the stages of fund disbursement.