Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS): Maharashtra heritage lovers welcomed the Centre’s decision to nominated 12 Maratha forts for the UNESCO World Heritage List 2024-2025, as ‘Maratha Military Landscapes of India’, announced by the Ministry of Culture.

The list includes forts at: Raigad, Salher, Shivneri, Lohagad, Khanderi, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg, Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) and one Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu, all representing the extraordinary fortification and military system envisioned by the Maratha rulers.

These forts -- included in the UNESCO’s tentative list of 2021 -- are distributed across diverse geographical and physiographic regions and showcase the strategic military prowess of the Maratha rule, between the 17th-19th centres.

“This extraordinary network of forts, varying in hierarchies, scales and typological features, is a result of integrating the landscape, terrain and physiographic characteristics distinctive to the Sahyadri mountain ranges, the Konkan Coast, Deccan Plateau and the Eastern Ghats in the Indian Peninsula," said the Ministry of Culture.

A majority of these are linked with the life and times of the legendary Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1630-1680), whose 350th anniversary of Coronation (June 6, 1674) is being celebrated this year.

Experts and fort lovers like Umesh Zirpe, the President of Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangha (AMGM), Ramnath Amberkar, Sunil Deodhar and others warmly welcomed the Centre’s decision.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of Culture for the UNESCO nomination.

“The Government of India has submitted a proposal to UNESCO to include the area of the Maratha military lanscapes, forts during the time of our idol Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This proposal has been submitted for the year 2024-25,” Fadnavis said.

Maharashtra has more than 390 forts, of which only 12 have been selected under the cultural category and of these eight are under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India.

India presently has 42 World Heritage Sites of which 34 are cultural, 7 are natural and one is a mixed location.

From the 42, Maharashtra has six sites - five cultural and one natural – comprising Ajanta Caves (1983), Ellora Caves (1983), both in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the Elephanta Island Caves (1987), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004), Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (2018), all in Mumbai, and the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which falls in the natural category (2012).