Since 9 April, when the deal was signed between Dalmia Bharat Ltd, the ministries of tourism and culture and the ASI, there’s been no progress.
New Delhi: The widely panned deal between the government and the Dalmia Group to ‘adopt’ the Red Fort has been put on hold, a senior official in the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
As per the original memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Dalmia Bharat Ltd, the ministries of tourism and culture and the ASI on 9 April, the detailed project report (DPR) had to be made within a month.
However, there’s been no progress since then, the official said.
“Nothing has taken off so far…So it is all put on hold for now,” the official said, adding there is no clarity yet over how the deal will pan out in the coming days.
According to the MoU, the Dalmia Group was supposed to provide water kiosks for drinking, signages and benches for the monument within six months. Over two months have already lapsed with no work being done.
“It would be too optimistic to assume that work would have started already, but there is no conversation happening over the DPR also,” the official said.
Official sources in the tourism ministry, however, said the deal is being held up by the ASI. The Dalmia group has repeatedly asked for meeting, which the ASI hasn’t granted, added the sources.
Adopt a Heritage
According to reports last month, the ASI had earmarked Rs 50 crore to develop exactly the same facilities – providing drinking water, signages, etc. – in the Red Fort that Dalmia was supposed to develop in lieu of Rs 25 crore for a period of five years under the tourism ministry’s ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme.
A list of about 100 other monuments, including the Taj Mahal, Qutab Minar and Sun Temple in Konark, have been signed up for adoption under the scheme. It was launched in September last year on World Tourism Day by President Ram Nath Kovind.
“The whole issue was made political…Even though the deal was to not touch the monument at all, and just provide development facilities,” the official said.
The deal was severely criticised by opposition parties, which accused the government of leasing out heritage monuments to private groups and abdicating its own responsibility.