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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Former minister C M Ibrahim announces to launch new regional party for Karnataka
Kalaburagi: Two years after being expelled from the Janata Dal (Secular), former minister C.M. Ibrahim has announced that he will launch a new regional political party in Karnataka on January 24, reported Deccan Herald.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the Nava Karnataka Nirmana Andolana in Kalaburagi on Sunday, Ibrahim confirmed the birth of the new party.
The 77-year-old politician stated he would soon be meeting with other like-minded individuals to choose a symbol for the party.
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Ibrahim emphasised that the organisation would be guided by the principles of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna and the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
A veteran politician, Ibrahim served as Union Civil Aviation Minister during the tenure of H.D. Deve Gowda as Prime Minister and later headed the Karnataka unit of the Janata Dal (Secular). He was expelled from the JD(S) in 2023 on charges of anti-party activities.
His exit from the party followed sharp differences over the JD(S) decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As the then state president of the JD(S), Ibrahim had publicly criticised the alliance, claiming it was finalised without his knowledge. He had also reportedly convened meetings of his supporters and expressed support for the INDIA bloc.
