New Delhi, Dec 4 Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Thursday that data related to cultural mapping of 6,23,449 villages has been uploaded on the official portal as part of the Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) Programme.
The number of villages identified under Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar (MGMD) Programme for cultural mapping across the country is 6,38,365, Shekhawat said in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
“Out of which, the data of 6,23,449 villages has been uploaded on the MGMD Portal so far,” he said.
As part of its documentation activities, MGMD covers a wide range of cultural elements, both tangible and intangible, including oral traditions, beliefs, customs, historical significance, art forms, heritage sites, traditional food, prominent artists, fairs and festivals, traditional dress, ornaments and local landmarks, he said, in a written reply.
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 programme promotes community participation by enabling community-led documentation and crowd-sourced validation through the MGMD Portal.
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, thereby contributing to sustainable livelihood generation and rural economic development.
In reply to another question, the Union Minister said that 655 antiquities have been retrieved from foreign countries since 1976.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) takes up conservation and maintenance work of 3,685 ancient monuments and archaeological sites of national importance, including provision of amenities like drinking water, toilet blocks, pathways and landscaping, etc. across the country.
Maintenance of these monuments and sites is a continuous process and is taken up as per the need and availability of resources.
The National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities, established in 2007, has documented and published data for 11,406 Built Heritage and Sites, and 12,46,211 Antiquities. The data has been published on the NMMA website www.nmma.nic.in.
The government set up the National Culture Fund (NCF) in 1996 as a Trust under the Charitable Endowment Act, 1890, with an objective to mobilise extra resources through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) mode towards conservation and development of heritage sites, and overall promotion of India’s cultural heritage, he said.
--IANS
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