A Parliamentary panel has observed that the provision of 100-metre prohibited and 300-metre regulated area around all monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has pitted the local community against these heritage structures in many places as they find it difficult to carry out necessary repair work of their residential spaces.
The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport Tourism and Culture has thus asked the government to revise the rules to make them realistic. It has also recommended rationalising the application of such rules based on the historical significance of the monuments.
“In some cases, the entire village is within a radius of 300 metres, which makes it difficult for the entire village to carry out repair work of their residential houses. Such a situation in many places creates a hostile scenario, pitching the local community against the monuments,” the committee said in its report submitted to the Rajya Sabha on September 21.
The prohibited and restricted area provision was introduced in 2010 through an amendment to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958. It prohibits and regulates all activities like mining and construction around 100 metres and 300 metres. The Central government has, however, already said that it was in the process of amending the Act.
The committee went on to say that at present, the same set of rules apply to both significant and insignificant monuments.
“For example, the rules above apply identically to the iconic Ajanta and Ellora monuments and Kos Minars, unknown cemetaries and tombs etc,” it said.
The Kos Minars or Mile Pillars are medieval Indian milestones along the Grand Trunk Road that were introduced by the 16th-century ruler Sher Shah Suri. They were erected to serve as markers of distance along royal routes.
It also recommended that the list of all 3,691 ASI-protected monuments be rationalised and categorised based on their national significance, unique architectural value and specific heritage content.
It noted that a quarter of the Centrally Protected Monuments minor monuments with no national significance. The list includes, for instance, 75 graves of colonial-era soldiers or officials of no notable importance.
It gave the example of a small brick wall enclosure containing two graves located in Kumta, Karnataka, which is a centrally protected monument under the supervision of the ASI. “The graves are those of public works department engineer John Albert Cope (died in 1880) and Henry Gassen (died 1877) who worked for a cotton ginning company. The structure had no architectural value, and the individuals were of no historical significance. Yet, they are supposed to get the same level of protection as the country’s most cherished monuments.”
