JOIN USCentre is considering a proposal to outsource the Red Fort’s operational maintenance and Qutub Minar and other monuments given world heritage site tag by the Unesco.
Union Culture Ministry is considering bringing in private players to ensure basic amenities and other services for the tourists. “We have received suggestions that responsibility for maintenance of tourist places like Lal Quila, Qutub Minar should be given to private players,” Union Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said.
“ (Private agencies) can take care of security, cleanliness, run restaurants and bookshops (on the premises of monuments). Reputed private entities can be engaged for providing such services, the Minister said, indicating that the proposal is being examined.
Sharma was addressing an event organised to launch a 24X7 multi- lingual call centre for foreign tourists here on Monday.
So far, the Culture Ministry has asked corporate houses and public sector to adopt monuments and maintain them under corporate social responsibility programmes.
“This is different. Here a revenue model is being worked out to encourage private sector partnership in upkeep and maintenance of popular monuments, mainly those declared as world heritage sites by the UNESCO,” official sources told Deccan Herald.