Scheme Of Financial Assistance For The Preservation And Development Of Cultural Heritage Of The Himalayas

The scheme “Scheme of Financial Assistance for the Preservation and Development of Cultural Heritage of the Himalayas” was launched by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The objective of the scheme is to promote, protect and preserve the cultural heritage of the Himalayan region spreading in UT of Jammu & Kashmir, UT of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh through research, documentation, dissemination, etc. Mode of and Conditions for Release of Grants:

• The grant shall be given based on the appraisal of applications and recommendations by the Expert Advisory Committee and thereafter administrative approval and financial concurrence of competent authorities in the Ministry of Culture.
• The grants will be paid in two equal installments, the first being normally released with the approval of the project. The second installment will be released on completion of the project and on receipt of duly audited statement of accounts showing the utilization of the entire amount of grant plus the share of the grantee/concerned State/U.T. Government and other documents. The release of the balance of the grant will be decided on the basis of the actual expenditure incurred on the project subject to the maximum limit.
• An organization in receipt of financial assistance under the scheme shall be open to inspection by an officer of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, or the State Government concerned.
• The accounts of the project shall be maintained properly and separately and submitted to the Government of India as and when required and will be subject to check by an officer of the Central Government or the State Government or by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India at his discretion.
• The organization shall maintain a record of all assets acquired wholly or substantially out of the Central Government grant and shall not dispose of or encumber or utilize for purposes other than those for which the grant was given without prior approval of the Government of India.
• If at any time, the Government of India has reason to believe that the sanctioned money is not being utilized for approved purposes, the payment of the grant may be stopped and the earlier grants recovered.
• The organization must exercise reasonable economy in the working of the approved project.
• The grantee organization shall furnish to the Ministry of Culture a quarterly progress report of the project indicating in detail both the physical achievements and the expenditure incurred on each of the approved items separately.
• The grantee shall submit three copies of the Project Report duly bound/Audio-Video CDs/Photographs to the Ministry of Culture and one copy to the State Government where the project has been undertaken.
• Applications of the organizations against which the previous grant/ Utilisation certificate is pending will not be considered.

Mode of Payment: All payments will be made through electronic transfers. Special Provision: The Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) on the scheme is empowered to recommend or reject any proposal received without or with the recommendation of State Government/U.T. administration/ Local Administration and also to recommend the amount beyond the maximum limit but not exceeding ₹30.00 lacs from this scheme, in respect of any proposal which is of outstanding merit for which the EAC feels that the maximum limit would not be sufficient for undertaking the said project, with the approval of Minister (Culture) and concurrence of AS & FA, Ministry of Culture. Inspection & Monitoring: Inspection would be carried out by Ministry officials every year at least in 5% of the cases. The concerned State Govt., District Collector/Dy. Commissioner will also monitor. Penalties in case of Misutilisation of grants: The members of the executive body of the organization would be liable for the recovery of misused grants. The organization will also be blacklisted for misuse of funds, fake registration certificate, etc. All immovable assets created from the Government grants would be taken over by local administration prescribed by the Ministry of Culture.