Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will come up with a Heritage Policy for conservation and preservation of heritage monuments across the state, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida informed on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media, Parida, who also holds the Tourism portfolio, said that a task force will be constituted to formulate the policy. “The proposed heritage policy will cover over 3,000 monuments in Odisha,” she said following a joint meeting of the Tourism, Culture, and Works departments.
She said the Culture department will bring the policy while the Tourism department will identify 75 monuments for conservation, preservation and beautification in the first phase. “Priority will be given to the conservation and safety of these sites, followed by the development of infrastructure to boost tourism. Besides beautification and amenities, steps will also be taken to maintain cleanliness at these sites and make those tourists friendly,” she said.
Parida also mentioned monuments and manuscripts recently recovered at Ratnagiri and missing idols in some temples of the state. The heritage policy, once finalised, is expected to provide a comprehensive framework for safeguarding such monuments, she added.