| Abstract | Conservation of the historic town is justified on the ground of the continuous relationship between past, present and future manifest in the material heritage. It is one of the ways to remind people of their local and national identity and also to retain some sense of continuity. The alternative strategy of reconstructing instead of preserving historic and cultural fabric has been acknowledged as an unsound proposition even in countries with abundant economic resources . For developing countries, however , where resources are limited, conservation must be justified under its economic aspect. The major constraint of conservation programmes is the weak participation from the private sector . Peoples I participation is, indeed, necessary to make such projects self-financing both at the implementation and maintenance stages . It is, hence, mandatory to elicit a sense of responsibility among res idents .
This study attempted to assess the feasibility of conservation of
the historic town from the point of view of inhabitants affordability. In this regard, the existing activities and prospects in agriculture, trade and commerce, private and public services, and wage labour were investigated, Moreover, the study also examined the existing indigenous skills and resources as well as their present utilization to identify the possible income and employment, opportunities that these might create . In addition, peoples' awareness and perceptions of as well as attitudes towards area development and physical improvements and their willingness to contribute both through voluntary labour and in financial terms were carefully examined,
Given the respondents favorable attitude , their voluntary financial contribution, to cover cost on a per capita basis, shared by even some proportion of the low income class, and a very high proportion of respondents indicating their voluntary labour contribution throughout the project life, which if expressed in aggregate financial terms are equivalent to a substantial amount of money , make conservation of selected, important monuments and sites feasible. Respondents direct contribution, the high priority they set for the conservation project , and their willingness to invest in house improvement and to contribute to phyiscal development works for the upgrading of existing facilities match the urgency and necessity of launching a conservation project which, thus , could become a feasible venture given the inhabitants assured affordability. Income was found to be the strongest influencing variable in determining the respondents t willingness to share conservation costs. Likewise, for respondents' willingness to contribute voluntary labour mandays, caste related occupational specialization was found to be the strongest influencing variable.
This study also streamlines the expected costs and benefits of the proposed conservation projects. Recommendations for planning in regard to income generation and employment creation and conservation are highlighted. particular techniques , namely , Charting of Organizational Responsibility' and Networking are recommended for implementation planning in conservation .
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