Monument conservation no longer ASI’s monopoly, private players to get a role: Report
New Delhi: For the first time, the Indian government is reportedly planning to open up the conservation of protected monuments — so far the mandate of only the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) — to private players.
According to a report by The Indian Express on Thursday, the government plans to allow corporates, public sector undertakings, and private organisations to directly hire external agencies for conservation work at forts, baolis, and other heritage sites across India.
Until now, the ASI, under the Ministry of Culture, was solely responsible for the conservation of the country’s 3,700 protected monuments. The move to include private sector participation aims to create a public-private partnership model in heritage conservation, which will help speed up conservation projects while also building capacity in the sector.
The conservation work will remain under the ASI’s supervision, with the detailed project report (DPR) for each project needing to adhere to the National Policy for Conservation, 2014.
As a first step in the process, the Ministry of Culture will be floating a request for proposal (RFP) to empanel over a dozen conservation architects of repute, across the country, one of whom can then be selected by the donor to guide with the conservation process and guidelines. Sources quoted by TIE mentioned that the donor and the conservation architect can then hire an external implementing agency for the said conservation work at the selected monument for which the DPR will be prepared and approved by the ASI.
The ASI will no longer be the only conservation implementing agency in the country, and several private players with relevant experience will be on board, as directly hired by these donors, once this takes shape.
“Once the conservation architects are empanelled, we will open the conservation work with corporate contributions to NCF. And that can be directly done by the contributor,” TIE quoted an official source as saying.
In the first phase of this initiative, a list of 250 monuments in need of conservation will be made available for donors to choose from. However, the report also suggests that donors may request specific monuments from other regions or based on certain criteria, which can be discussed later.
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Om Birla attends swearing-in of new B'desh PM, says India stands ready to support BNP govt
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, and said India stands ready to support Bangladesh's endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation.
Separately, the speaker called on the new Bangladesh prime minister and conveyed the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also handed over an invitation from Prime Minister Modi to Rahman to visit India, officials said here.
“Glad to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka today. India stands ready to support Bangladesh’s endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation,” Birla posted on X.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, said in a post on X, “Prime Minister Tarique Rahman conveys his greetings to India and PM Narendra Modi to the visiting India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at a courtesy meet following the swearing-in of the new government.
“Speaker Birla conveyed wishes and an invitation to India. Both leaders expressed optimism to work together for the well-being of the people of Bangladesh and India, pursuing a people-centric menu of cooperation.”
Birla also met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and other leaders on the sidelines of the event.
Led by Rahman, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97 per cent votes and 209 seats in the polls held on February 12, results for which were declared on February 13.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, registered its best-ever performance with 31.76 per cent votes and 68 seats.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) secured the third-highest number of seats, six, and 3.05 per cent votes.
Bangladesh had invited Narendra Modi to the ceremony, but the prime minister could not attend the event as he was scheduled to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on Tuesday.
On reaching Dhaka, Birla said the swearing-in of Rahman was an important moment that would strengthen people-to-people relations and shared democratic values between the two neighbours.
“Honoured to be in Dhaka representing India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government led by Tarique Rahman as the prime minister. It's an important moment that will strengthen people-to-people ties and shared democratic values between our two nations,” Birla said.
Birla was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials.
