Historians and archaeologists have expressed concern over
amendments proposed to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains Act (1958). If the related Bill is passed in the Upper House, it could
have disastrous consequences for historical monuments, they fear.

The Act, which originally
instituted conservation measures and banned construction activities near
protected monuments, is now sought to be amended so that public works could be
allowed within the 100 m prohibited zone. The Lok Sabha passed the amendments to
the Act on January 3. But the Bill is yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

“You cannot talk about
conserving ancient heritage and culture and then frame laws that go against
their very preservation,” historian of ancient India Romila Thapar told The
Hindu .

“A historical monument has to
be conserved by leaving enough space around it; otherwise the monument itself
may decay once you allow buildings to come up next to it. If you want people to
appreciate the monument you should allow visitors to associate it with its
neighbourhood by leaving space around the structure,” she said.

Urbanisation pressures

Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI) officials told The Hindu that the pressure to bring in this
amendment came when the ASI declined permission for a six-lane highway to come
up on the Delhi-Kanpur highway near Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra, Uttar Pradesh.

An ASI official, who also
teaches history at a central university, said on condition of anonymity: “The
ASI always takes the blame when it comes to upkeep of historical monuments, but
when such laws are passed; nobody questions their local MPs as to what they
were up to when such drastic changes were being made.”

Recounting an incident, he
said that in 2010, when the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010, was passed to ban constructions
around monuments, residents living near protected sites in Aurangabad protested
against the move, with the ASI having to take the blame for it, while the local
MP remained silent.

“The pressures of urban
development have meant that more and more historical monuments are coming under
threat due to development activities around them,” he said.

The ASI official further said
that rapid urbanisation also threatened many sites of historical importance,
for example megalithic sites (Iron Age burials) en route Chengalpattu from
Chennai.

Neolithic site missing

“Even a Neolithic site near
the Murugan temple in a hillock in Kundrathur is now missing due to urban
settlements springing up there,” he said.

In 2013, after a CAG report
raised an alarm that 92 historical monuments had gone “missing” due to
development activities around them, the ASI started a ground survey to verify
them, and found that 21 had indeed become untraceable.

Citing a Cabinet note,
Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor informed Parliament recently
that plans were afoot to construct a railway line next to Rani ki Vaw, an
ancient step well in Patan, Gujarat, which had been recognised as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 2014.