When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the Red Fort this Independence Day something crucial would have changed in the history of the red sandstone backdrop. In the long arc of its 370-year-old lifespan, the Red Fort has just gone from being an iconic symbol of India’s resistance and independence to a malnourished orphan up for adoption by the 77-year old Dalmia Bharat group. Dalmia pledged ₹25 crore and signed an “adopt a heritage” MoU with the Ministry of Tourism to restore the 17th century monument, making opposition parties draw a convincing argument that the very idea of India was under corporate siege.
Speculations and ideologies aside, two things stand out. The Red Fort needs an urgent facelift and cracking the whip on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) alone, might yield no results.
The idea of outsourcing the maintenance of heritage structures to private companies is a feasible, if not novel idea. Some of Europe’s most iconic heritage structures have been restored by fashion brands. Luxury’s leather goods company Tod’s pledged $32 Million to restore the Colloseum . Similarly Diesel, Prada and Fendi have helped restore Venice’s Rialto Bridge, the Venetian palazzo Ca’Corner Della Regina and the Trevi Fountain, respectively. However, the relationship between corporate donors and restoration projects hasn’t always been a happy one. In 2009, the Church of Santa Maria di Portosalvo in Naples signed a contract with restoration firm Grandi Progetti that allowed the firm to sell advertising space on its to scaffolding in exchange for restoration. Grandi Progetti profited with $3.8 million in advertising revenue, leaving the restoration in shambles.
The Dalmias have agreed for certain time bound deliverables: tactile maps, upgraded toilets, illuminated pathways and bollards, a 1,000-sq-ft visitor facility centre, battery-operated vehicles, charging stations and a thematic cafeteria, in addition to carrying out restoration work and landscaping; all this in exchange for “visibility in the monument premises”. Whether that visibility is a font size 12 on the signboards or tagging the word “Dalmia” to every reference to the Red Fort in the Prime Minister’s next I-Day speech remains to be seen.
Shriya Mohan Assistant Editor