Bhubaneswar: While the controversy over giving private players a free hand in adopting the historic Red Fort in the national capital is yet to die down, information from the Tourism Ministry reveals that in Odisha too, four heritage sites have been readied for adoption.
As per the information from the Tourism and Culture Ministry, two private players – Dalmia Bharat and TK International – have been selected from among the bidders who wanted to adopt four heritage sites in Odisha. They are currently managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) under the ‘Adopt a Heritage Site’ scheme which was launched in September last year.
As per a statement submitted by the Union Minister of State for Tourism KJ Alphons in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session in April, the ministry has already issued Letters of Intent (LOI) to these two private bodies giving nod for ‘adopting’ these sites under the scheme.
Under the plan, TK International will adopt the Sun Temple (Konark), Raja Rani Temple (Bhubaneswar) and Ratnagiri Monuments (Jajpur) in the first phase while Dalmia Bharat which is set to adopt the Red Fort would adopt the Udayagiri-Khandgiri sites (Bhubaneswar) and the Sun Temple (Konark) in the second phase. More adoptions are likely in the days to come.
The project entails to hand over heritage sites and monuments for adoption to private and public sector companies and individuals (who would be known as ‘Monument Mitras’) for providing basic amenities as well as management (operation and maintenance) for a period of 5 years initially, subject to review at any time. Regular monitoring and feedback mechanism from all the stakeholders, including tourists, have been incorporated.
In the MoU, the Tourism Ministry makes it clear that the private players on account of their funding would get a chance to boost their identity at these heritage sites. Section 9 of the scheme guidelines said, “Monument Mitras shall be provided with opportunities for their brand promotion in lieu of their CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives under the project subject to approval by the Oversight & Vision Committee.”
It also added, “Further visibility would be given to the Monument Mitras in lieu of the advanced amenities provided. They would also be given extra provision to work on cross subsidization model to augment their financial resources.”
Queries made to the state Tourism Department and state unit of the ASI remained unanswered at the
time of writing
the story.
Manish Kumar, OP
