Amid a controversy over an MoU with Dalmia Bharat Limited vis-a-vis the Red Fort, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday questioned why the Centre could not even take care of the historic monument.
“Why can’t the government even take care of our historic Lal Qila? The fort is a symbol of our nation. It is where India’s tricolour flag is hoisted on the Independence Day. Why should it be leased out? Sad and dark day in our history,” Banerjee said in a tweet.
The Tourism Ministry had clarified on Saturday that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) envisaged limited access to non-core areas and no handing over of the monument is involved. “It is clarified that ‘The Adopt a Heritage’ is essentially a non-revenue generating project.”
The Ministry said that under the ‘Monument Mitras’ project, it has approved 31 agencies so far to adopt a total of 95 monuments and tourism sites across India.
“So far, four MoUs have been signed between different stakeholders — for Mt. Stok Kangri in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, the trail to Gaumukh in Uttarakhand, the Red Fort in Delhi, and the Gandikota Fort in Andhra Pradesh,” it said.