Porvorim: Minister for Archives and Archaeology Vijai Sardesai chaired stakeholders meeting today unanimously resolved ‘not to say no’ to the Central Government’s ‘Adopt of Heritage’ scheme, that has listed 17 monuments and sites in Goa for development under the scheme.
The meeting was attended by representative of Archbishop of Goa, Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, Parish Priest of Se Cathedral, Rector of Basilica, Archaeological Survey of India along with Chief Secretary IAS Dharmendra Sharma and officials of department of archives and archaeology and tourism.
The meeting has resolved that while signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the private party, the consent from Churches should be made mandatory.
Speaking to media persons post meeting, Sardesai said that after discussing the pros and corns of the scheme, we unanimously felt that we should not say no to the scheme. “We mean not only the government but also the church authorities,” he said.
“After discussing in detail, it is been clearly understood that the scheme is not about taking over the monument. It is about preserving the monument on the international standard,” Minister said.
“By and large we have reached to the conclusion of the Adopt of Heritage scheme is in the interest of Goa if implemented properly,” he added.
Sardesai said that the scheme can be actually used to harness more footfalls and increase the carrying capacity of the monuments by upgrading it to world-class infrastructure.
“I had come here to say no to the scheme initially. But on understanding the implications of the scheme, we realized that the scheme can be actually used to harness more footfalls and increase the carrying capacity of the monuments by upgrading it to world-class infrastructure. It is in the interest of State…monuments…religious institutions owning those monuments and also in the interest of private party,” he said.
