New Delhi: The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) launched three initiatives Monday to increase corporate engagement in maintaining the 3,696 centrally-protected monuments in the country.
Dubbed “Adopt a Heritage 2.0”, the plan will mitigate the challenges heritage sites face related to the creation, operation and maintenance of various infrastructural and service assets.
This fresh strategy takes forward an earlier scheme from 2017 – “Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan” – an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Culture and the ASI to increase visitors to heritage sites.
ASI Director General Professor Kishor Basa launched “Adopt a Heritage 2.0” Monday, as well as the Indian Heritage app and an e-permission portal at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
Basa said: “Heritage is playing a very important role in the cultural sphere and can play a crucial role in the new India image.”
He accepted that heritage sites were not solely maintained by the ASI, amid several government reports of a staff crunch in the organisation.
Under the new programme, ASI will invite companies to use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to improve amenities at the monuments. “The new programme aims to enhance visitor experience and educate youth and locals about our rich heritage sites. It also strengthens locals in terms of livelihood,” Basa said.
“It’s a revolutionary and epochal moment for the ASI and gives us a chance to showcase monuments,” he added, addressing a packed auditorium at IGNCA.
Minister of Culture G. Kishan Reddy emphasised the pivotal role that cultural heritage plays in shaping India’s identity. “Modi ji took many steps to enrich India’s heritage. He says public participation is needed to conserve heritage. These new efforts will ensure this and will also provide employment to the local communities,” Reddy said at the event.
ASI’s Additional Director General Gurmeet Chawla made a brief presentation on the three initiatives and the reason behind revamping the 2017 scheme, saying it did not specify the scope of work and amenities in heritage sites.
This is not the first time the Indian government has relied on corporates to maintain monuments. In 2011, the UPA government formed a National Culture Fund and started the Clean India campaign in which 120 monuments and destinations were identified.
What will the scheme focus on?
The ASI, the ministries of culture and tourism have been working on this initiative for over a year. The culture ministry secretary Govind Mohan said the ASI did not have adequate people to properly maintain monuments.
“We have the finest monuments in the world but the management is not up to the mark. On the other hand, many countries have fewer monuments but do a great job to attract visitors,” he said.
The programme envisages a four-pronged frameworks – “Hygiene”, “Accessibility”, “Safety” and “Knowledge” – to engage corporates for provisioning amenities.
“Hygiene” includes toilets, drinking water, baby-care room, waste management while “Accessibility” includes pathways, signage, wi-fi facility and parking. “Safety” has first aid, CCTVs, illumination and cloak room while “Knowledge” includes interpretation centres, cafeteria, light-and-sound shows and publication kiosks.
Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi said at the event that all the gaps in the old scheme had now been plugged. “People do not know how to respect heritage. It’s time to protect and reclaim our heritage and culture and ‘Adopt a Heritage’ will recover our lost ideas,” she said.
Lekhi said development and heritage must go hand-in-hand because “only economic development will not work”. “Cultural development is also very important for society. Tourism will benefit from the new scheme, which will benefit both heritage as well as economic development,” she added.
Under the new programme, the selection process for adopting monuments is easy. Evaluation will be based on selected amenities, action plan, vision plan, implementation plan, credentials of CSR partners and their financial capabilities. “We want long term engagement of corporates. The initial term of the appointment will be five years, which can get a further extension of five years,” ADG Gurmeet Chawla said.
Indian Heritage App and E-Permission portal
The ASI also introduced the Indian Heritage mobile app, a user-friendly app that serves as a comprehensive guide to India’s monuments offering state-wise details, photographs, listing of public amenities, geo-tagged locations and a citizen feedback mechanism. “It aims to provide a user-friendly interface and feedback mechanism and gives some ease and accessibility to visitors. The app will be launched in phases with ticketed monuments being unveiled in phase 1,” Chawla said.
ASI is the custodian of 3,696 monuments across the country with different historical pasts. “The ASI makes the entire process leaner and cleaner as heritage should be a living part of us… this initiative can help to achieve this,” said Manisha Saxena, Director General, Ministry of Tourism.
Union Minister Reddy lauded the attempt to connect India’s heritage with advanced technology, as many types of permissions would now be available on time.
Another initiative launched by the ASI Monday was the e-permission portal which will streamline the process of obtaining permissions related to photography, filming and development projects on heritage monuments. “This is a one-step solution for the permission, will bring transparency and provide time-bound approvals for cultural events,” Chawla said.
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