Preservation of protected monument by agreement

(1) The Director, when so directed by the Government, shall propose to the owner of a protected monument to enter into an agreement with the Government within a specified period for the maintenance of the monument. (2) An agreement under this section may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:- (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 (iii) 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 archaeological officers or to persons deputed by the owner or any archaeological officer or other officer or authority authorized by the Government to inspect or maintain the monuments; (e) the notice to be given to the 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 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 Government in connection with the maintenance of the monument; (g) the proprietary or other rights which are to vest in the Government in respect of the monument when any expenses are incurred by the 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 Government. (3) The Government or the owner may, at any time after the expiration of three years from the date of execution of any 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 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 an whose behalf the agreement was executed.