Centre plans to tweak no-build zone around monument

What is the News?

The Ministry of Culture is working on amendments to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958. 

What is the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958?

AMASR Act provides for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance. 

It also provides for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for the protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects. 

The Act was amended in 2010 to declare the 100-metre radius of protected monuments as prohibited areas and the next 300-metre radius as regulated areas. However, this amendment was brought about without any inputs from the Archaeological Survey of India.

What are the amendments proposed in the AMASR Act?

Firstly, it proposes to change Section 20A of the Act, which refers to the prohibited area. This amendment would rationalise the prohibited and regulated areas. An Expert Committee would decide the prohibited area around a particular monument, which could be as wide as 500 metres for some sites like the Taj Mahal.

Secondly, it aims to enable the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) to act against encroachment by holding the relevant authorities liable in case of illegal buildings at a protected site. This would be similar to the enforcement powers under the Indian Forest Act.

Source: This post is based on the article “Centre plans to tweak no-build zone around monument” published in The Hindu on 7th Feb 2022.