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Our national monuments might be in need of corporate support now more than even but according to a study of the top 91 listed in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) by consulting firm NextGen Pvt Ltd, funds reserved for the conservation of culture and heritage dropped by almost 40% last year.
The drop comes at a time when a new amendment bill pending in parliament is likely to further endanger the old precincts. The government has proposed to amend the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 2010, to permit construction of government-funded infrastructure projects in the proximity of protected monuments.
If the amendment goes through, the day is not far when metro lines and bridges will be dangerously close to the protected monuments of the country. Any further pressure on them, is bound to increase the maintenance costs.
For protection of monuments in the times of rapid development AMASR Act, 2010, prescribed the area around100 meters of protected monuments as prohibited. But, the amendment will take infrastructure projects closer to monuments.
Many architects and urban planners see the developers of the infrastructure projects as the intended beneficiaries of the proposed amendments rather than the monuments. Once cleared, the act will facilitate new infrastructure projects around monuments.
As of now, among corporates, water conservation, poverty alleviation and women empowerment programmes are the most sought after corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities – on which they spend most of their mandated allocation from their profits every year.
Until five years ago heritage conservation wasn’t counted as a CSR activity in the Indian Companies Bill. In 2013, a parliamentary panel took note of the poor flow of funds in this field and strongly recommended the inclusion of “heritage and culture” as a CSR activity.
Earlier, most conservation efforts were primarily done by state-owned enterprises but of late private sector firms have showing an active interest in conservation efforts. For example, Yes Bank, with the help of its think-tank Yes Institute, organized 73 heritage walks and 50 cycle rides at Delhi’s heritage spots like Lodhi Gardens, Purana Qila, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar and Hauz Khas as a part of their CSR activities last year. The bank spent Rs 29.52 crore on its CSR in 2015-16 and will spend Rs 34 crore in the current fiscal year.
“We focus on built, craft and food heritage and want to contribute to the awareness of the citizens of our rich history. We are very oriented towards nation building and that’s why cultural knowledge is very important. As an Indian bank, we try to compliment existing policies to promote sensitivity and preservation,” said Preeti Sinha, Glocal Convenor, YES Global Institute. More than 1500 people have undertaken these walks and been a part of their initiative #YesToHeritage.
IT giant Infosys Ltd is also involved in restore monuments and organizing cultural shows in south India. In 2016, Infosys Foundation restored Somanatheswara temple complex in Karnataka’s Lakshmeshwara and around Rs 5 crore were spent over last four years.
Among the public-sector companies, ONGC, Indian Oil, NTPC and GAIL have undertaken maintenance activities for temples and monuments close to their areas of operation.
With an initial corpus amount of Rs. 25 crore and an annual sum of Rs. 10 crore, IndianOil Foundation will be adopting at least one heritage site in every State and Union Territory. “The first phase will include Qutub Minar, Konark Sun temple, Khajuraho temples, Kanheri Caves and many others. It is important for corporate giants to include heritage protection in their CSR. With the new heritage laws coming in, corporates should work to preserve our national pride,” said an executive associated with IndianOil Foundation, who did not wish to be named.
Institutions like Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) play a monumental role in tying up with corporate partners.
Says Swapna Liddle, convener, INTACH Delhi: “I think most of all they are bad news for monuments which will be affected. If we see the total area of the whole country that is occupied by these old structures and their buffer zones, it is a minuscule percentage. Surely it would not be a great sacrifice to keep this area free from construction, and move the projects elsewhere. But we often don't value heritage. Sensitivity is slowly increasing, but there are a few hurdles. More CSR initiatives will certainly help.”
