NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Culture has started the process of empanelling heritage conservation architects, a move that will allow private entities, including donors and corporate bodies, to undertake conservation and restoration of protected monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The initiative is aimed at ensuring proper use of donated funds and faster completion of conservation projects. It will also create a national pool of qualified conservation architects and give donors greater flexibility in choosing professionals for projects funded through the National Cultural Fund (NCF).
Set up in 1996, the NCF channels public and private funds, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions, for the protection and promotion of India’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Officials said the new system will support ASI’s conservation work while allowing donors to select architects from an ASI-approved panel.
Under the amended NCF policy, donors can engage ASI-empanelled architects to carry out conservation or repair work at heritage sites of their choice, while ASI will monitor the projects to ensure compliance with conservation norms. Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal had earlier said ASI’s oversight would remain mandatory for all such works.
Empanelled architects will be responsible for preparing detailed project reports, developing conservation methods, providing project management support and supervising execution. The execution of work will be done by agencies selected by donors after due approval.
Eligibility criteria
As per the eligibility criteria for empanelment, the architect must experience in conservation or restoration of heritage structures over 100 years old. Initially, the empanelment will be valid for three years, which will be reviewed annually.