Parliament to give ASI enforcement powers against encroaching
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New Delhi: The Monsoon session of Parliament will consider a bill enabling the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to act against those encroaching protected sites. The law will be amended to deal with ancient monuments.
As per the Lok Sabha bulletin, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been listed by the government for introduction and passing.
The amendment will also replace the provision that allows 100-metre prohibited areas for construction activity around Centrally-protected monuments. Instead, expert monument committees will be deciding what a prohibited area is around each monument.
The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, was amended once in 2010 to declare the 100-metre radius of protected monuments as prohibited areas. It also declared the next 300-metre radius as regulated areas.
There have been complaints from the real estate sector that the rules are the same for all ASI-protected sites whether it is a world heritage monument like the Taj Mahal or a small graveyard. Some opine that this needs to change.
A month ago, Union Culture Minister G Krishnan Reddy said the government was working to bring amendments to the AMASR Act 1958 to make it "more flexible and friendly".
The Act aimed to preserve ancient and historical monuments and archeological sites so that they would be available for excavations. It is also meant to protect sculptures and carvings among others.
The ambitious Puri Heritage Corridor Project triggered a controversy when the state government constructed a cloakroom, a shelter pavilion, three toilets, an electrical room, and a pavement within the prohibited zone of the historic temple. The government claims to have received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the National Monuments Authority (NMA). But ASI said no such document was issued by them.
On the other hand, the bill is seeking to review the list of protected sites under the ASI.
MoS Culture Arjun Ram Meghwa on June 14 said a standardisation should be made for the inclusion of site/monument in the ASI list. "If the need arises, monuments can be dropped from the list." The amendment may add a clause to review the list of protected sites so that the unnecessary burden of upkeep can be dropped.