The Central government will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with private players to lease out the maintenance of five World Heritage Centres in India, including the famous Taj Mahal in Agra. According to a UNI report, while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on the ‘Role of Corporate Sector in Tourism Promotion’ organised by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) in Chennai, Sujit Banerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism (MoT) said the MoU would be signed between MoT, Ministry of Culture and the Indian Association of Tour Operator (IATO).
After signing the MoU, IATO will take care of the maintenance of Red Fort and Qutub Minar in New Delhi and Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort in Agra. “We will hand over only the maintenance part of these World Heritage Centres to the IATO, which had hitherto been maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ownership rights, however, will continue to be with the ASI. The five monuments will be leased out to the IATO for a period of either 33 years or 66 years,” added Banerjee. |