New Delhi, Dec 16 Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday that in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Prime Minister's Museum and Library (PMML) in 2025, no decision was taken regarding the non-availability of documents related to former PM Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Minister also said that the PMML has not formulated any policy for conducting an annual audit of the documents available in the museum.
Shekhawat was replying to questions from BJP MP Sambit Patra in the Lok Sabha.
The Minister replied in negative to Patra’s questions about whether certain documents were improperly and illegally removed from the Prime Minister's Museum and whether the persons who are responsible for the same have been identified.
Replying to another question on National Cultural Mapping, Shekhawat said that out of 6,38,365 identified villages, 6,23,449 have been mapped by the Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) Portal.
He said under the National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM), the mission captures a wide range of cultural elements, including heritage sites, folk and traditional art forms, artists, oral traditions, beliefs, customs, historical significance, local landmarks, fairs and festivals, attire, ornaments, and cuisines. However, the MGMD data is maintained in a village-wise format and is not aggregated element-wise.
Replying to questions by BJP MPs Dulu Mahato and Bibhu Prasad Tarai, the Minister said The MGMD Programme leads to the strengthening of rural identity by creating authentic, village-level cultural profiles that recognise local traditions, practices and heritage assets. The availability of structured cultural data on a single national portal supports planning for cultural cluster development, heritage tourism, and the promotion of traditional skills, he said.
In Odisha, data from 47,209 villages has been uploaded on the MGMD Portal. In Bhadrak district, data from 998 villages has been mapped, and in Balasore district, data from 2,798 villages have been covered under the initiative, he said.
Shekhawat said the data on the MGMD portal is maintained village-wise and not community-wise. Certain tribal communities from Andhra Pradesh, such as Bagata, Konda Dora, Kondhu, Valmiki, Koya, KondaKammara, Konda Reddi, Kotia and Gadaba have been surveyed as part of the village-level cultural data, he said.
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