Hyderabad: The salient features of the Telangana Heritage Act 2017 were discussed at a high-level meeting held today at the Secretariat.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Secretary Dr S K Joshi said Telangana State Heritage Authority will be formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. Similarly, Heritage committees for GHMC and district heritage committees for all the districts would be constituted. The idea was to inventorize all heritage structures in the State and come up with an action plan for restoration and taking up repairs of all heritage structures in the State.
The Chief Secretary said that creation of Telangana Heritage Fund would be taken up which would enable private individuals, private funds, the funds earmarked by companies towards Corporate Social Responsibility can be pooled and the companies desirous of taking up heritage activities can also be dovetailed with Telangana Heritage Fund. The fund will be used for restoration of heritage structures.
The fund shall also enable receiving funds meant for heritage restoration duly complying with the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Chief Secretary asked GHMC to identify the most vulnerable monuments and heritage structures and take immediate steps, including fencing, to protect these structures. It was also decided to freeze the status quo on usage of all monuments with immediate effect.
Heritage Director Visalatchy requested for providing separate security wing from Telangana Reserve Police for security and protection of heritage structures and monuments. The Municipal department will play lead role. It was decided to hold the next meeting after six weeks. Municipal Administration Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, HMDA Commissioner Janardhan Reddy, Hyderabad District Collector Raghunandan Rao and Heritage Director Visalatchy attended the meeting. (NSS)
