On Saturday, the Indian National Congress, TMC and CPI(M)  accused the Modi govt of 'leasing out the Red Fort' to a corporate group signed a contract with the Ministry of Tourism to maintain the Red Fort. The Congress party wrote in a tweet: "After handing over the Red Fort to the Dalmia group, which is the next distinguished location that the BJP government will lease out to a private entity?"

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The Congress also questioned how a private entity was given the mandate to maintain the iconic Red Fort, days after a corporate house signed an agreement with the tourism ministry under its 'Adopt a Heritage' project.The Dalimia Bharat group, under the memorandum of understanding, would maintain the monument and build basic infrastructure around it and has committed a sum of Rs 25 crore for the purpose over a period spanning five years. "They are handing over the iconic monument to a private business. What is your commitment to the idea of India, to the history of India? We know you have no commitment, but we still want to ask you," Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters here. 

"Do you have dearth of funds. Why funds for the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) lapse, why do they lapse. See the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) reports. If they have paucity of funds, then why do they lapse?" he asked.

IndiGo Airlines and the GMR group were also in the race to bag the project.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the government. She wrote: “Why can’t the Government even take care of our historic Lal Qila ? Red Fort is a symbol of our nation. It is where India’s flag is hoisted on Independence Day. Why should it be leased out ? Sad and dark day in our history.”

TMC spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Derek o’ Brien asked: “Wah! So here is acche din. Red Fort being 'sold '? Now other national treasures ready to be auctioned to highest bidder. As Chairman Parliament Cmtee of Transport Tourism & Culture, can say matter was still being "discussed". Pledge to stop this.”

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said: “Stop Privatising India’s Heritage: The Parliamentary Committee that went into the issue of handing over heritage sites to private corporate had decided against this unanimously. Govt should reverse its decision of privatising the Red Fort.”

Defending the decision, Tourism Minister KJ Alphons told a news channel that it was a ‘wonderful move to preserve, beautify and modify our heritage’.

Reacting to the news, Dr Mahesh Sharma, MoS Culture told ANI: “President announced a scheme of GoI on World Tourism Day 2017, that those interested in value addition to any services of monuments can come forward. Some services of Red Fort has been given to Dalmia Group. No profit activity will take place.”

According to the Adopt a Heritage site website, the project plans to entrust heritage sites to private sector companies, public sector companies and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. A description on the site read: “They would become 'Monument Mitras' and adopt the sites. The basic and advanced amenities of the tourist destinations would be provided by them. They would also look after the operations and the maintenance of the amenities.”

The Dalmia Bharat group has agreed to provide certain basic amenities at the 17th century monument within six months. These include providing drinking water kiosks, street furniture-like benches and signages to guide the visitors, according to the ministry. 

The entity has also agreed to put up within a year tactile maps, upgrade toilets, light up the pathways and bollards, carry out restoration work and landscaping and build a 1,000-square-foot visitor facility centre.It will also provide a 3-D projection mapping of the fort's interior and exterior, battery-operated vehicles and charging stations for such vehicles and a thematic cafeteria. 

Responding to Khera's remarks, Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons said under the scheme started last year, the ministry is looking at public participation to develop heritage monuments."The companies involved in these projects will only spend and not make money. They will create amenities such as toilets, provide drinking water for the tourists so that their footfalls increase. They might put up signs outside to say that they have developed the amenities. If they are spending money, there is nothing wrong in taking credit for it," he said.

"I want to ask the Congress what they did for the past 70 years. All the monuments and facilities around them are in terrible shape. In some places, there were no facilities at all.," he said.

As of March this year, 31 prospective 'monument mitras' (friends of heritage sites) have been shortlisted by a oversight and vision committee for developing tourist-friendly amenities at 95 monuments, heritage and other tourist sites including the Red Fort, Qutub Minar (in Delhi), Hampi (Karnataka), Sun Temple (Odisha), Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra), Char Minar (Telangana) and Kaziranga National Park (Assam). Dalmia Bharat Limited group signed an MoU with the Ministry of Tourism adopting the Red Fort under the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ Project.

The ministry signed an MoU with Dalmia Bharat and the Archaeological Survey of India under the project to adopt the iconic Red Fort monument in New Delhi and Gandikota Fort in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, it said in a statement.

The Adopt a Heritage scheme was launched by President Ram Nath Kovind on World Tourism Day in September last year.

With a budget of more than Rs 5 crore per year, the cement manufacturing company joins "monument mitras" including other private sector companies, which will look after the operations and maintenance of the site for five years, it said.

Under the project, it will construct, landscape, illuminate and maintain activities related to provision and development of tourist amenities. This includes basic and advanced amenities such as public conveniences, clean drinking water, cleanliness of the monument, accessibility for all, signage, cloakroom facilities, illumination and night viewing, surveillance system, tourist facilitation-cum-interpretation centre.

Keeping in mind the easy accessibility to the differently-abled visitors, there will be ramps and toilet facilities for the differently-abled. Facilities like wheelchairs, battery-operated vehicles, braille signages are some of the key additions, which will make the Red Fort a barrier-free monument.

The company said in a statement that advanced surveillance system like pan-tilt-zoom CCTV cameras will be installed. Dalmia Bharat will also assist in controlling the advanced tourist flow management system linked with carrying capacity of the monuments, including light and sound shows with regular cultural shows and facilitation of night visits to the monuments. 

GMR Sports, a part of infrastructure conglomerate GMR Group, and consumer products and cigarette company ITC Ltd have expressed interest in adopting the Taj Mahal under the Tourism Ministry's 'Adopt a Heritage' scheme started last year.

The scheme invites government and private parties to operate and maintain heritage sites.

The ministry awarded the Letters of Intent to nine agencies for 22 monuments of Phase-IV of the scheme, including the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh, Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan, Mehrauli Archaeological Park and Gol Gumbad in Delhi.

Union Minister for Tourism K J Alphons asked the stakeholders to "protect, preserve and market" the heritage of India. He emphasised on creating awareness among corporates and citizens to adopt the heritage sites under the scheme for maintenance of amenities at tourist destinations.

With inputs from PTI