The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has 3696 monuments under protection, which are spread, throughout the country. These monuments not only exhibit the rich cultural heritage of India but also play a significant role in fostering the economical growth. In order to sustain the rich cultural legacy, the heritage sites require time to time enhancement of the amenities. To this end and to further enhance the experience of visitors, ASI will be launching “Adopt a Heritage 2.0” programme on 4th September 2023 at Samvet Auditorium, IGNCA, New Delhi. Under this programme, ASI invites corporate stakeholders to enhance the amenities at the monuments by utilizing their CSR funds. The programme is a revamped version of the earlier scheme launched in 2017 and clearly defines the amenities sought for different monuments as per AMASR Act 1958. The stakeholders can apply for adopting a monument or specific amenity/ amenities at a monument through a dedicated web portal with URL www.indianheritage.gov.in, which contains details of monuments sought for adoption along with gap analysis and financial estimation of amenities.

Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and DoNER Shri G Kishan Reddy, spoke about the importance of cultural heritage in shaping our identity. “Our heritage monuments are not mere structures, they are living testaments of our history, art and architecture. The ‘Adopt a Heritage 2.0’ programme seeks to foster collaboration with corporate stakeholders through which they can contribute in preserving these monuments for our upcoming generations”, said the minister. The process for selection will be carried out after due-diligence and discussions with various stakeholders and assessing the economic and developmental opportunities at each monument.

The selected stakeholders will develop, provide and/or maintain amenities in hygiene, accessibility, safety and knowledge categories. In doing so, they will get an opportunity to be recognized as a responsible and heritage-friendly entity. The term of the appointment will be for a period of five years initially, which may be further extended up to five years.

Further, a user-friendly mobile app, named ‘Indian Heritage’ will be launched on the same day, which will showcase the heritage monuments of India. The app will feature state-wise details of monuments along with photographs, list of public amenities available, geo-tagged location and feedback mechanism for citizens. The launch will be in a phased manner, with the ticketed monuments launched in Phase I, followed by the remaining monuments. An e-permission portal, with URL www.asipermissionportal.gov.in for obtaining permission for photography, filming and developmental projects on monuments will also be launched. The portal will fast-track the process for obtaining various permissions and solve operational and logistical bottlenecks involved.

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SKT/SK