At long last, the unfathomed glory of the historic monuments of the Capital is all set for a grand resurrection with a new participatory approach chalked out by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Under the new scheme, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and a host of other agencies have been roped in a big way to bring back permanence to the decaying monuments on Delhi's landscape.

The Indian Oil Corporation ... has shown keen interest in giving Rs.10 crores for restoring the historic Qutab Minar - a World Heritage sit - to its original glory and the Punjab and Sindh Bank has expressed its willingness to fund the conservation and maintenance of medieval monuments in Lodhi Gardens and those in and around Purana Qila.

While the Gas Authority of India Limited has offered to floodlight the Shershah Suri Gate and the Khairul Munjair Mosque near Delhi Zoo, Park Hotel is actively considering sponsoring the revival of Jantar Mantar floodlights.

The Capital, according to the ASI, has 156 monuments and more offers and requests are trickling in a formal agreement for all these proposals is yet to be signed.

The "overwhelming response" for private participation in the conservation and preservation of monuments comes after the Ministry of Culture and the ASI launched a campaign through the newly established National Cultural Fund ..

A number of presentations have been made before members of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the Confederation of Indian Industry. the Hotelliers Restaurant Associations and similar organisations.

The concerned groups who give money for conserving India's heritage (have also been) given incentives ... in the form of 100 per cent tax exemption, reasonable space for advertisement inside and outside the monuments (and) on the tickets or on its brochures.

(Source: The Statesman, 4 December, 1999)