Demolition of 200 houses in the historical fabric of Shiraz for “development of Shah Cheragh Shrine”

The “Shah Cheragh Shrine Expansion Plan” has been on the agenda again since the Ebrahim Raisi government came to power. According to this plan, a large part of Shiraz’s historical fabric, which includes 200 historic houses, will be demolished to expand the Shah Cheragh Shrine.

The “Shah Cheragh Shrine Development Plan,” which was shelved by the previous government, has been revived with the coming to power of Ebrahim Raisi’s government. According to this plan, a large part of Shiraz’s historical fabric, which includes 200 historic houses, will be demolished to expand the Shah Cheragh Shrine.

During the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration, the "Shah Cheragh Shrine Development Plan", known as the "57-hectare" plan, was approved by the Supreme Council for Urban Planning and Architecture and quickly went into implementation.

This plan was rejected after four years due to its conflict with the “Shiraz City Hall” plan, and the matter even led to a lawsuit. The 12th government requested that the judiciary intervene in the matter.

Mehdi Hajati, a former member of the Shiraz City Council, wrote on Twitter: "The custodians of Shah Cheragh have not only forcibly destroyed the houses and historical fabric, but they have also pocketed billions of the acquisition budget by forging documents."

It was in 2018 that Ali Asghar Munesan, then head of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, said in response to Fars News Agency about the outcome of this complaint: "We took legal action and a court order was issued in this regard, and I hope that by implementing the court order, which has become final, no one will allow themselves to be destroyed. Unfortunately, the enforcement officer there prevented the officers from entering. I also ask the Attorney General to intervene in this matter."

The implementation of this plan is so worrying that several letters have been written to the president.

In January of this year, the "Union of Iranian Student Associations of Architecture, Restoration and Urban Planning" expressed its concern about the organized destruction of historical structures in Shiraz in a letter to Ebrahim Raisi.

With the publication of this news, the citizens of Shiraz have launched a campaign to stop this project and in a letter to Ezatollah Zarghami, the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, they have asked him to stop the project.