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26/03/24 10:34 AM IST

Archaeological Survey of India will ‘delist’ some ‘lost’ monuments

In News
  • The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to delist 18 “centrally protected monuments” because it has assessed that they do not have national importance.
Delisting of monuments
  • The ASI, which works under the Union Ministry of Culture, is responsible for protecting and maintaining certain specific monuments and archaeological sites that have been declared to be of national importance under the relevant provisions of The Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 and The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act).
  • Delisting of a monument effectively means it will no longer be conserved, protected, and maintained by the ASI.
  • Under the AMASR Act, any kind of construction-related activity is not allowed around a protected site.
  • Once the monument is delisted, activities related to construction and urbanisation in the area can be carried out in a regular manner.
  • The list of protected monuments can grow longer or shorter with new listings and delistings.
  • ASI currently has 3,693 monuments under its purview, which will fall to 3,675 once the current delisting exercise is completed in the next few weeks.
  • This is the first such large-scale delisting exercise in several decades
  • Section 35 of the AMASR Act says that “If the Central Government is of opinion that any ancient and historical monument or archaeological site and remains declared to be of national importance…has ceased to be of national importance, it may, by notification, declare that the ancient and historical monument or archaeological site and remains, as the case may be, has ceased to be of national importance for the purposes of [the AMASR] Act.
AMASR act
  • The AMASR Act protects monuments and sites that are more than 100 years old, including temples, cemeteries, inscriptions, tombs, forts, palaces, step-wells, rock-cut caves, and even objects like cannons and mile pillars (“kos minars”) that may be of historical significance.
  • These sites are scattered across the length and breadth of the country and, over the decades, some, especially the smaller or lesser known ones, have been lost to activities such as urbanisation, encroachments, the construction of dams and reservoirs, or sheer neglect, which has resulted in their falling apart.
  • In some cases, there is no surviving public memory of these monuments, making it difficult to ascertain their physical location.
  • Under the AMASR Act, the ASI should regularly inspect protected monuments to assess their condition, and to conserve and preserve them.
  • In cases of encroachment, the ASI can file a police complaint, issue a show-cause notice for the removal of the encroachment, and communicate to the local administration the need for demolition of encroachments.
Source- Indian Express

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