Shimla: Art lovers in the Northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh have urged New Delhi to grant heritage status to a picturesque village which boasts some of the finest specimens of uniquely Himalayan architecture, dating back about 1,500 years.

Nirmand village, some 180-km from provincial capital Shimla and considered one of the oldest villages in the Western Himalayas, is famous in the region for its wooden houses.

But modern concrete buildings are now increasingly replacing the exquisitely carved wooden houses with small doors, projecting verandas, slanting slate roofs and prominent courtyards.

"In the last 10 years many of these old houses have been demolished," said Paras Ram, who at 98 years, is the oldest resident of Nirmand.

"The trend, increasingly, is to go for concrete structures," he said sadly.

Some cobbled courtyards have been uprooted and replaced by chips or concrete floors and slate on the roofs is giving way to iron.

"We are trying to get the government of India to declare Nirmand a heritage village so that no new structure is built," said B S Malhans, who heads the Shimla chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, an autonomous body.

Extensive repairs would have to be carried out to preserve the wooden structures, Malhans said, adding special care would have to be taken to see the restoration work blended with existing architecture.

Buoyed by the success of having got the authorities to declare another settlement, Pragpur, as the first heritage village in Himachal Pradesh declared three years ago, Malhans says there is no reason the administration, cannot do the same for Nirmand.

"This means funds will be available from several national and international bodies such as the World Heritage Fund, the Indian Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Indian Environment Ministry for preserving and restoring Nirmand," he said.

Experts like O C Handa, an art historian, have warned that unless immediate steps are taken to preserve Nirmand's ancient wooden dwellings, they could be lost forever.

They also argue that the new concrete structures, unlike the quaint wooden structures, do not blend in with the scenic hills of Himachal Pradesh's Kullu valley, appearing instead "ugly and incongruous".

Some local villagers, in their effort to preserve, renovate and rebuild the old houses, were unwittingly damaging the structures and changing their character, Handa said.

Even covering the wooden structures with coat of paint damaged it. While the traditional polish made with apricot and linseed oil preserved the wood, the modern chemical paints have a detrimental effect.