Explained: The 1958 Act for the protection of ancient monuments and the changes the government wants to introduce

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy recently said that the government is working to bring amendments to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act-1958 to make it “more flexible and public friendly”.

Reddy was speaking at the 37th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Archeology (CABA) in Delhi.

What is the AMASR Act? The AMASR Act is “an act to provide for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance, for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for the protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects. The ASI is responsible for archeological research and preservation of monuments of cultural and historical significance, and comes under the Ministry of Culture.”

According to The Indian Express, the Act was amended in 2010 in which 100-metre radius of an ASI-protected monument is deemed a “prohibited area”, where no construction is allowed. The next 300-metre is a “regulated area”, where permissions are required before executing any structural changes.

What are the changes the government is planning?

As per The Quint report, which cites an ASI source, it is speculated that the changes might be about the no-build zone around monuments.

According to The Indian Express, the ministry is looking to rationalise these prohibited and regulated zones following controversies over development projects pertaining to different monuments.

“Whether it’s the world heritage monuments like the Taj Mahal and Red Fort, or a small graveyard in a remote corner of Delhi, once it becomes an ASI protected site, the same rules apply; this needs to change,” said a member of CABA, who didn’t want to be identified.

The changes are also expected to give more teeth to the ASI to remove encroachments from regulated zones around the monuments and hold the local authorities liable.

Recently, the ambitious Puri Heritage Corridor Project was also caught in a controversy with the ASI. As per a report by Outlook, the National Monuments Authority (NMA) had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the state government which allowed construction of a cloakroom, a shelter pavilion, three toilets, an electrical room and a pavement within the prohibited zone of the historic temple.

However, the ASI stated that no such NOC has been issued by them which invalidated the legal support behind the ongoing work.

Meanwhile, at the 14 June meeting, MoS Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal said that “a standardisation should be made for the inclusion of site/monument in ASI list and if need arises, monuments can also be dropped from the list.”

The amendment may also add a clause to review the list of ASI-protected monuments and drop some from the ASI purview. The monument can then be passed on to the respective state archaeology departments for upkeep so that unnecessary burden can be shed off.

Adding the review clause will also enable the ASI to take other monuments under its care. The ASI has already been recommended to consider the Anang Tal lake in South Delhi and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial at Mehrauli among other places.

With inputs from agencies

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