Taj Mahal to be adopted under Clean India campaign

New Delhi, July 23: The Taj Mahal, a Unesco World Heritage site, will be adopted under the Clean India Campaign, the tourism ministry said on Tuesday.

The Taj Mahal will be adopted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at a function attended by Tourism Minister K.Chiranjeevi in Agra on Wednesday.

"It is the crown jewel among the tourist destinations in India and naturally is a priority destination under the campaign Clean India programme," the ministry said.

At the initiative of the tourism, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has agreed to the proposal of ONGC for adopting five more monuments under the Clean India campaign.

The monuments, besides the Taj, are Ellora & Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, the Red Fort in Delhi, Golkonda Fort near Hyderabad, and Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu.

The Clean India campaign is part of the central government's strategy for 12th Five Year Plan for improving the quality of services and the environ in and around tourist destinations across India.

"The campaign is aimed at undertaking both sensitisation and action at field level on bringing tourism destinations and their surroundings to an expectable level of cleanliness and hygiene," it said.

The campaign is being implemented with the involvement of private and public sector stakeholders.