Govt clears two schemes for heritage monuments’ conservation, development

The Delhi Cabinet has approved two new schemes for the conservation and development of the city’s heritage monuments. The government allowed public sector undertakings, private companies, NGOs, trusts, and individual citizens to adopt any of 75 historic monuments under the Delhi government’s care for a five-year period.

The adopting partners, designated Monument Mitras, are expected to save the government an average of around Rs 4.5 lakh per monument annually in maintenance costs, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Tuesday.

The two schemes, launched under the “Hamare Smarak, Hamara Gaurav” initiative, are the Delhi Chief Minister Monument Adoption Scheme and the Scheme for Grant-in-Aid to Trusts, NGOs, Foundations and Institutions for Conservation, Restoration and Development Works of Monuments. Both cover monuments of local importance protected by the Department of Archaeology under the Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004, meaning sites that do not fall under the Archaeological Survey of India’s jurisdiction.

Under the Adoption Scheme, Monument Mitras will bear the full cost of providing and maintaining visitor amenities at their adopted site, including cleanliness, security, lighting, and light-and-sound facilities. The Chief Minister clarified that any revenue generated by a Monument Mitra through an approved event or activity at the site must be reinvested entirely into the monument’s maintenance and development and cannot be retained as private profit.

The adoption period will run for five years, governed by a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the Delhi government, the concerned land-owning agency, and the Monument Mitra, with regular monitoring and periodic stakeholder feedback built into the process.