Several large business corporations have approached the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) about supporting monuments through its Adopt A Heritage 2.0 programme. ASI will finalise the adopters after studying detailed project reports in the coming months. The scheme encourages private and public corporations to use their CSR funds to enhance the amenities at monuments and improve the upkeep of the sites.
What is Adopt a heritage 2.0?
In September, ASI and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched Adopt a Heritage Programme 2.0. Under this scheme, ASI invites corporate stakeholders to enhance the amenities at the monuments by utilising their CSR funds. The corporate partners will be responsible for providing hygiene (toilets, drinking water, baby care room, waste management), accessibility (pathway, e-rickshaw/ferry, barrier-free access, signage, wi-fi facility, parking, soft landscape), safety (first aid, CCTV surveillance, lighting & illumination, cloakroom), and information (interpretation centre, souvenir & publication kiosks, cafeteria, cultural and light and sound shows) at the sites. All earnings from semi-commercial activities will be spent towards the functioning and upkeep of the heritage site. Companies will be given credit either at the ticket windows if they adopt the entire monument or at the spots and amenities they maintain.
ASI has put up a list of 1000 monuments out of the 3696 monuments under its ambit for adoption. It is proposed that the selected CSR partners be granted access to the adopted monument for a period of five years through a bipartite Memorandum of Understanding, with a possible extension for another five years. The potential adopters can apply to adopt a monument or specific amenities at a heritage site through ASI’s dedicated web portal, which contains details of monuments sought for adoption along with gap analysis and financial estimation of amenities.
The scheme is a revamped version of the earlier programme launched in 2017 and clearly defines the amenities sought for different monuments as per the AMASR Act 1958.
Reactions to the scheme
The scheme since its inception has received mixed reactions. When the scheme was first launched in 2017, Mumbai-based archaeologist Dr Kurush Dalal was optimistic about it. According to him, the scheme would benefit the heritage sector and help in increasing tourism at Heritage sites, reported Scroll.in. He further added that unlike him, many of his colleagues from the archaeological community are not thrilled with the programme.
One such expert is Dr. Arvind Jamkhedkar, retired director of archaeology and museums with the Maharashtra government. According to Dr Jamkhedkar, private corporations are focused on their revenues and have little knowledge of the conservation and preservation of heritage. As a result, the government bodies have to constantly monitor these businesses.
Another expert opposing the scheme is Shereen Ratnagar, an archaeologist based in Mumbai. She emphasises that the programme is an attempt of the government to pass its responsibility of maintaining heritage and tourism sites to private stakeholders. She adds, “Tourism at monuments is the government’s responsibility, just like health or education.”
However, Dalal points out that ASI lacks the capacity to manage the tourism infrastructure at heritage sites that are in dire need of upkeep. He recognises the shortage of manpower and funds at ASI and backs the initiative.
Who is interested?
The scheme has been more popular amongst the corporate houses than its predecessor. In less than two months after its launch over a dozen corporations have applied to adopt monuments, these include the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, and Agrasen ki Baoli in Delhi, the Hampi Museum, Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh fort, Hyderabad’s Golconda fort and the Chausath Yogini temple in Odisha.
Companies interested in the programme are Kiran Nadar Foundation, JK Paper, Jindal Steel and Power, and Drishti Life Saving, amongst others. Existing partners such as Yatra, ResBird Technologies, Dalmia Bharat Group, and Park Hotels are keen on continuing their collaboration with ASI.
Gurmeet Singh Chawla, joint secretary of the Union Culture Ministry, told TOI that the adopters will be finalised after they submit their detailed project reports. It will take at least two more months for finalisation of the list.
ASI seems to be more cautious with the Adopt a Heritage 2.0 scheme after the collapse of the Morbi bridge in 2022. The bridge was adopted by a watch company based in Gujarat. Reports suggested that the company had no prior expertise in bridge engineering to maintain a colonial-era bridge and this possibly contributed to the collapse of the bridge. The guidelines for the programme are stricter and more unambiguous. Chawla states, “We only give them permission for the facilities they want to put up. They cannot damage the heritage structure. They can use the surfaces for projecting, but the monument itself shouldn’t be touched.”