The Meghalaya government had missed deadline to submit the nomination dossier to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for the iconic Living Root Bridges, locally known as Jingkieng Jri. Chief of the Culture Unit at UNESCO’s New Delhi South Asia Regional Office, Junhi Han explained that the nomination process is rigorous, typically taking around 18 months. Han, who was here to attend a one-day workshop on preparation of the World Heritage nomina
tion dossier, said the deadline for submitting the nomination dossier to the World Heritage Centre in Paris is the beginning of February every year. “Since the 2025 deadline has already passed, the Meghalaya government will have to target February 2026 for its submission,” the UNESCO representative said while adding that if the dossier is deemed complete and it meets UNESCO’s eligibility criteria, it will move on to the evaluation stage.
She also said that the final decision on whether the Living Root Bridges will be inscribed as a World Heritage Site will be made by the World Heritage Committee in 2027.