The government should have kept away national icons such as the Red Fort from the list of buildings to be handed over to corporates.Numerous heritage monuments are scattered across the country. The Archaeological Survey of India under the central government oversees 3,686 heritage monuments, as per last year's figures. The archaeological department in Kerala has more than 300 monuments under its care. Bigger states such as Andhra Pradesh have to tend to about 500 monuments which is not a minor affair. Yet we lag far behind Europe or countries such as the United States in the amount of money spent on the conservation of national heritage.
The Centre and the state governments have only one department each to ensure the protection of national monuments. The archaeological department in Kerala is chronically short of personnel and it cannot find enough expertise to do its job. Heritage conservation is not as easy as constructing a building. The archaeological department needs expertise and committed people. Unfortunately, such people are in short supply.
Heritage conservation has been reduced to just putting up a board that reads ‘protected monument’. The department cannot even employ enough security guards to ensure that the signboards are correct.
Often, the authorities wake up only days after a heritage monument is damaged. A controversy would rage for a few days and soon everyone would forget about it.
In this context, it is hard not to appreciate the decision to hand over the responsibility of monuments to corporate entities. This is not a new idea at all. India is just trying out an idea that has already been implemented in foreign countries.
The corporates are sure to use the heritage properties to promote their brands. Nobody does anything for free. Still the corporates could ensure the conservation of the monuments more professionally. Just look at the museums around us. Private museums are under better care than the government-owned ones. The havelis in Rajasthan have been converted to hotels by private operators without tampering with the age-old buildings.
However, we have to be very careful with the agreements when we hand over the heritage monuments to the corporates. Let them take care of the monuments. But still the monuments will be ours. The government should have kept away national icons such as the Red Fort and Taj Mahal from the list of buildings to be handed over to corporates.
(The writer is an archaeologist and heritage consultant)
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