Context:  The Ministry of Culture recently told Parliamentary Standing Committee that 50 of India’s 3,693 Centrally Protected Monuments (CPM) were missing.

Key points

Monuments of national importance under protection of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have become untraceable due to-

• Rapid urbanisation.

• Submerged by reservoirs and dams.

• Difficulties in tracing remote locations and dense forests

• Non-availability of their proper location.

• Many inscriptions and tablets have been moved or damaged and it may be difficult to locate them.

Recommendations by the Standing Committee

• Mandatorily survey all the CPMs sites physically: ASI had previously admitted that a comprehensive physical survey of all monuments has never been conducted after Independence

• Provide budgetary allocation and assess security requirements

• Involving local community including local Panchayats and Police

• Use of technology such as GPS, Geo-location, and Geo-tagging to trace monuments

• Enhance manpower of ASI: ASI currently faces an acute manpower shortage to physically man all the big and small monuments which may fall under a particular region

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act)

• It regulates preservation of monuments and archaeological sites of national importance.

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under Union Ministry of Culture, functions under this Act.

• Act protects monuments and sites that are more than 100 years old.

• It includes temples, cemeteries, inscriptions, tombs, forts, palaces, step-wells, rock-cut caves, and objects like cannons and mile pillars that may be of historical significance.

Under the act, ASI officials

• Should regularly inspect the monuments to assess their condition.

• Should conduct various conservation and preservation operations.

• Can file police complaints, issue show cause notices for removal of encroachments, and communicate to local administration the need for demolition of encroachments.

• Section 35 has the provision to issue notifications only for such CPMs which, according to the central government, have ceased to be of national importance. 

Missing monuments

• Barakhamba Cemetery in Delhi was among the untraceable monuments.

• It may have been lost due to the redevelopment of the New Delhi Railway Station.

• Guns of Emperor Sher Shah in Tinsukia (Assam).

• Ruins of Copper Temple, in Lohit (Arunachal Pradesh).

• Kos Minar in Faridabad (Haryana).

• Kutumbari Temple in Almora (Uttarakhand).

• Rock Inscription in Satna (Madhya Pradesh).

• Old European Tomb in Pune (Maharashtra).

• 12th Century Temple, in Baran (Rajasthan).

• Telia Nala Buddhist ruins in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).

Key recommendations of department related parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture

• ASI should immediately undertake a physical survey of the remaining Centrally Protected Monuments (CPMs) which were not inspected in CAG Audit survey and which has lost their importance over time.

• ASI should ascertain whether there are any other missing monuments in the country.

• Digital log books and records should be maintained that contain textual and photographic record with demarcated coordinates of the monument.

• Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act should be amended so that Untraceable Monuments is not be removed from the list of CPMs which in the opinion of Central Government ceased to be of national importance.

• ASI should highlight CPMs and the lesser-known monuments on its website and stimulate interest of public regarding their maintenance and raise the profile of Missing Monuments among the general public.

• ASI should categorize monuments into different classes of importance and the periodicity for official inspection of such sites.

• Due and appropriate budgetary allocation should be made for protection and maintenance of World Heritage Sites and special monitoring mechanism should be established.

• ASI and Ministry of culture should give wide publicity to the theft of antiquities as soon as it takes place as such publicity will deter buyers who otherwise are not aware that it is stolen property.