Sun-dried brick and kiln-fired brick structures unearthed in a trench on mound number one (RGR-1) at Rakhigarhi, a Harappan site in Haryana, where excavation was under way on April 6, 2022.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
The government is all set to reintroduce the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) (Amendment) Bill in the forthcoming second half of the Budget session.
Union Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said that discussions on the draft AMASR (Amendment) Bill were in the final leg and the legislation in most probability will be tabled in the ensuing Budget session next month.
The AMASR Act regulates the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites. It provides for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for protection of sculptures, carvings and other such objects. The Archaeological Survey of India functions under the provisions of this Act.
The AMASR Act of 1958 prohibits construction in a prohibited area of 100 metres around protected monuments. It does not permit construction in such prohibited areas even for public purposes, except under certain conditions. The Central government can extend the prohibited area beyond 100 meters.
The AMASR (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in 2017. It allows the government to take up infrastructure projects within prohibited areas around protected monuments. It introduced a definition for ‘public works’, which includes construction of any infrastructure that is financed and carried out by Central government for public purposes. It allows the Centre to allow public works based on the recommendation of the National Monuments Authority, on an application forwarded by the relevant Central government department that seeks to carry out construction for public purposes in a prohibited area. The Bill was, however, referred to a select committee in the Rajya Sabha, which subsequently submitted its report in 2018.
The Union Minister also said the government had come out with a new programme, “Visit India 2023”, which would spotlight untold facets of tourism in the country, thus elevating India as a “365 days destination”. The programme would highlight mesmerising destinations and regions such as northeast India, propagate newer ways to explore the country with a spectrum of spiritual corridors and adventure trails, and accelerate India’s position as a business-ready MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) destination.