Govt to include more monuments under ‘adopt a heritage’ for private players

NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding criticism over the Government’s decision to give Red Fort to a corporate for upkeep, Tourism Minister K J Alphons today insisted that his Ministry will expand the “adopt a heritage site” project to put more monuments under private care.

The Minister also attacked the Congress for opposing the initiative, saying the opposition party has a “poor memory” and they are forgetting that they had also engaged a private player to maintain and operate the iconic Humayun Tomb.

Alphons told PTI that he was not worried about the controversy over the adoption of the Red Fort by the Dalmia Bharat Group and rejected reports that that the 17th century monument was being ‘handed over’ for Rs 25 crore to the corporate house under the ‘adopt a heritage’ scheme.

“It is an executive decision taken by the Government to sign the MoU. No changes to the present project will be done. We will only expand the project to include more such sites and monuments,” Alphons said.

Explaining the ‘adopt a heritage’ project , the Minister said its aim is to entrust heritage sites and monuments and other tourist sites to private sector companies, public sector companies and individuals for the development of tourist amenities. (AGENCIES)