The Culture Ministry will take up the integrated conservation of major monuments at Hampi, the 14th-16th century capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire, including Jain temples on Hemakuta Hill and the Saraswathy Temple in Singanayakanahalli, Karnataka.
The proposed project will be supported by CSR funding from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) under the National Culture Fund (NCF) of the ministry. According to officials, around Rs 38 crore will be made available from both sources, including nearly Rs 19 crore in MPLADS funds.
Soon, the ministry will appoint a heritage conservation architect to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs) and technical documentation for the identified conservation components.
The selected architect will undertake detailed documentation, condition assessment, conservation planning and preparation of DPRs and associated technical documentation required for taking up the identified works in a technically sound, coordinated and phased manner, said officials.
The exercise aims at the clear identification and demarcation of the works proposed under the respective funding components.
The proposed Hampi components identified for the project are the total lengths of the North Bazaar and South Bazaar of Virupaksha Temple, the collapsed Mandapa located on the western side of Sri Bhashyakara Gudi near the Vijaya Vittala temple complex, and temples on Hemakuta Hill in Singanayakanahalli.
The precise physical extent, scope and treatment of the components will be verified and finalised in consultation with the NCF and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Last year, the digital upgradation of the ASI Hampi Museum was initiated with funding from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Since the formation of the NCF in 1996, sponsorships and donations from PSUs or corporations under the initiative have helped fund over 60 projects, including the restoration and conservation of prominent heritage sites, museums, illumination of historical ASI-protected buildings and digitisation of archival records.
The NCF serves as a financing mechanism enabling donor or sponsor institutions — corporations, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private bodies — to support the protection, restoration, conservation and development of tangible and intangible culture and heritage directly as partners with the government.
Besides the project under the NCF, the ASI regularly undertakes the conservation of 3,697 monuments under its jurisdiction. According to a reply by Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Rajya Sabha in March, the government received a contribution of Rs 24 crore during 2021-26.
The implementation and progress of projects under the NCF are monitored through the Project Implementation Committee (PIC), which periodically reviews their status. The timelines for the implementation of projects are generally specified in the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed with the donors and implementing agencies.
