Patna: Bihar's two Unesco world heritage sites - the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya and the ruins of the Nalanda University - could soon get a corporate benefactor like the Red Fort in Delhi has.

Axis Bank has expressed interest in adopting the Bihar landmark sites under the Centre's Adopt a Heritage project.

A video conference was recently held between officials of the bank, the union ministries of tourism and culture, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on adopting the two sites and how to take the work forward.

ASI sources said bank officials were slated to visit the Mahabodhi Temple and the Nalanda ruins to understand the ground situation before going ahead with their plan.

"Axis Bank has come forward to adopt the Mahabodhi Temple and the Nalanda World Heritage sites with the help of the union tourism ministry. There was a video conference on the issue and we also participated in it," ASI Patna circle superintending archaeologist D.N. Sinha told The Telegraph.

Sinha said the bank's interest in the two monuments stemmed from the fact that both were internationally renowned, with the Mahabodhi Temple being the holiest shrine for Buddhists around the globe.

Though the Nalanda ruins are directly under the ASI, the Mahabodhi Temple is under the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee, of which the Gaya district magistrate is the ex-officio chairperson.

Sinha said the proposals were in the nascent stage and the bank has expressed interest in ensuring public amenities and cleanliness at the two sites.

The Adopt a Heritage project, launched last year, is an initiative of the Union ministry of tourism in collaboration with the ministry of culture and the ASI, to develop heritage sites or monuments and make them tourist friendly.

More than 110 monuments and sites, including a few non-ASI ones, have been put in the list to be offered as a package to private and public sector companies to develop tourist-friendly amenities.

These will be funded as part of the corporate social responsibility of the interested companies. The Dalmia Bharat group has adopted the Red Fort in Delhi.

The Bihar list includes the ruins of Patliputra at Kumhrar (Patna), Sher Shah Suri's Tomb at Sasaram (Rohtas) and the ancient site of Vaishali at Kolhua.

"No proposal has come for Kumhrar, Sher Shah Suri's tomb and Kolhua so far," ASI's Sinha said.

Though the Mahabodhi Temple and the Nalanda don't figure in the list, the Adopt a Heritage scheme stipulates that "interested parties may opt for any other heritage site, monument or tourist site not mentioned in the list".

The project has already been through a lot of criticism as the Congress had questioned the Centre's commitment to the "idea" and history of India in the wake of a private company bagging a contract to maintain the iconic Red Fort.

The Centre has clarified that the project envisages limited "access" to non-core areas and "no handing over of monuments" is involved in the process. The companies will get limited visibility within the premises of the sites as well as the Incredible India website.