maharashtra is home to 80 of the countrys cave formations maharashtra tourism development corporation managing director bhushan gagrani said a private company or trust interested in adopting any of the 244 stateprotected monuments will have to apply to the government following which a government committee will oversee the functioning of the body including its accounts they will be handed over to private bodies only for upkeep when asked if construction of hotels inside the monuments would be allowed on the lines of rajasthans palace hotels chavan said we will decide this on a casetocase basis the central grant will also cover the development of the areas around the forts and provision of basic tourist facilities the list also includes the khandeshwari temple caves in thane sinhagad fort in pune and vishalgadh fort in kolhapur the scheme does not apply to monuments like the kanheri caves in sanjay gandhi national park which are protected by the central archaelogical society of india asi the state government on friday approved a scheme to allow private companies and trusts to adopt 244 stateprotected monuments including the gateway of india mumbais five forts and punes sinhagad fort chavan claimed that private bodies had already expressed a keen interest in the project the ownership of the monuments will remain with the state among the hot spots in mumbai that will be covered under the scheme are the five fortsdharavi st george mahim bandra and sewrithe gateway of india august kranti maidan and the banganga tank the 244 monuments include 34 forts 14 caves 101 places of worship and 95 other places of historical interest including the birthplaces of famous personalities ancient doorways and gardens they will be allowed to use the monument they adopt in their publicity material and may even be entitled to tax exemptions historic monuments have been encroached upon and neglected but the state government faces a shortage of funds said state cultural affairs minister ashok chavan meanwhile the central tourism ministry on friday said it had sanctioned rs 735 crore for the renovation of mumbais five fortssewri ghodbunder worli bandra and vasai mumbai there will also be a subcommittee for each monument the aim is to protect these monuments ensure that people understand their historical importance and boost tourism gagrani said but we will ensure that the basic features of the monument are not lost the private bodies will be responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the monuments for a fiveyear period and will be allowed to charge an entry fee subject to government approval