Preservation of protected monument by agreement.

(1) The Collector may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, propose to the owner of a protected monument to enter into an agreement with the State Government, within a specified period, for the maintenance of the monument.

(2) Any agreement under this section may provide for all or any of the following matters, that is to say.—

(a) the maintenance of the monument;

(b) the custody of the monument, and the duties of any person who may be employed to watch it;

(c) the restriction of the owner's right —

(i) to use the monument for any purpose,

(ii) to charge any fee for entry into, or inspection of, the monument.

(iii) to destroy, remove, alter or deface the monument, or

(iv) to build on or near the site of the monument;

(d) the facilities of access to be permitted to the public, or any section thereof, or to persons deputed by the owner, the Director or the Collector, to inspect or maintain the monument;

(e) the notice to be given to the State Government in case the land on which the monument is situated or any adjoining land is offered for sale by the owner, and the right to be reserved to the State Government to purchase such land, or any specified portion of such land, at its" market value;

(f) the payment of any expenses incurred by the owner or by the State Government in connection with the maintenance of the monument;

(g) the proprietory or other rights which are to vest in the State Government in respect of the monument when any expenses are incurred by the State Government in connection with the maintenance of the monument;

(h) the appointment of an authority to decide any dispute arising out of the agreement; and

(i) any matter connected with the maintenance of the monument which is a proper subject of agreement between the owner and the State Government.

(3) The State Government or the owner may, at any time after the expiration of three years from the date of execution of an agreement under this section, terminate it on giving six months' notice in writing to the other party:

Provided that, where the agreement is terminated by the owner, he shall pay to the State Government the expenses, if any, incurred by it on the maintenance of the monument during the five years immediately preceding the termination of the agreement or, if the agreement has been in force for a shorter period, during the period the agreement was in force.

(4) An agreement under this section shall be binding on any person claiming to be the owner of the monument to which it relates, from, through or under a party by whom or on whose behalf the agreement was executed.