Lok Sabha Question No. 902 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-21
Subject: Encroachment of Heritage Sites
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: CHINTAMANI MALVIYA, SUBHASH PATEL, BHARATI DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL, LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV, RAVINDRA KUMAR RAY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.902 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.11.2016 KARTIKA 30, 1938 (SAKA)

## ENCROACHMENT OF HERITAGE SITES

- +902. PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA: SHRI SUBHASH PATEL: DR. BHARATIBEN D. SHYAL: SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV: DR. RAVINDRA KUMAR RAY:

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there has been considerable rise in the cases of illegal encroachment in important  historical  heritage  sites  and  monuments  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Madhya Pradesh;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  prepared  any  action  plan  to  deal  with  the  said situation or fixed any responsibility in this regard;
- (c) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  keep  such monuments free from encroachment;
- (d) the  number  of  encroachments  removed  by  the  Archaeological  Survey  of  India during each of the last three years, State and monument-wise; and
- (e) the funds released by the Government for the maintenance and upkeep of these monuments  during the last three years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE, CULTURE AND TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a) Information is being collected and will be placed on the table of the House.
- (b) Government has been taking appropriate action against all such illegal encroachments as per the provisions of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and Amendment & Validation Act, 2010.
- (c) The  encroachments  in  the  protected  monuments  and  protected  areas  are removed  as  per  the  provisions  contained  in  the  Ancient  Monuments  and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and Rules, 1959 framed thereunder. Superintending Archaeologists are also authorised to issue show cause notices under  the  provisions  of  Ancient  Monuments  and  Archaeological  Sites  and Remains  Act  1958    and  Rules  1959  followed  by  a  direction  to  the  District Collector/Magistrate by Central Government to remove such encroachment under

section 19 (2) of the Act and Rule 38 (2). In order to contain the encroachments and  removing  them,  the  Superintending  Archaeologist  in  charge  of  the  Circles have  been  vested  with  the  powers  of  an  Estate  Officer  to  issue  eviction notices/orders to the encroachers under Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.  Further, assistance in such cases is also sought  from  the  respective  State  Government/police  and  where  there  are  no fruitful results actions are initiated against the encroachers by filing cases in the court  of  law.    In  addition  to  the  regular  watch  and  ward  staff,  private  security personnel, State police guards and CISF have also been deployed for the safety and security of selected monuments. The Ministry of Culture has also requested the  State  Governments  to  form  coordination  committee  comprising  State  and Archaeological Survey of India officials to solve the problem.

- (d) Information is being collected and will be placed on the table of the House.
- (e) The expenditure incurred on maintenance and upkeep of all centrally protected monuments including these monuments in the country during the last three years is at Annexure.

ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.902 FOR 21.11.2016

STATE/UT-WISE DETAILS OF FUNDS ALLOCATED AND UTILISED  FOR CONSERVATION OF MONUMENTS UNDER ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS

(Amount Rs. in Lakhs)

|   Sl. No. | Name of State/UT   | Number of protected monuments   | Circle / Branch        | 2013-14   | 2014-15   | 2015-16   |
|-----------|--------------------|---------------------------------|------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|         1 | Uttar Pradesh      | 743                             | Agra Circle            | 957.97    | 1404.99   | 1270.00   |
|         1 | Uttar Pradesh      | 743                             | Lucknow Circle         | 944.99    | 1165.00   | 945.08    |
|         1 | Uttar Pradesh      | 743                             | Sarnath Circle         | ---       | 534.99    | 495.00    |
|         2 | Maharashtra        | 285                             | Aurangabad Circle      | 493.00    | 695.00    | 629.05    |
|         2 | Maharashtra        | 285                             | Mumbai Circle          | 415.00    | 645.00    | 902.82    |
|         2 | Maharashtra        | 285                             | Nagpur Circle          | ---       | 444.98    | 845.00    |
|         3 | Karnataka          | 506                             | Bangalore Circle       | 1253.00   | 1515.99   | 1427.02   |
|         3 | Karnataka          | 506                             | Mini Circle Hampi      | --        | 90.00     | 401.24    |
|         3 | Karnataka          | 506                             | Dharwad Circle         | 993.79    | 713.94    | 716.42    |
|         4 | Madhya Pradesh     | 292                             | Bhopal Circle          | 716.99    | 956.99    | 1261.01   |
|         5 | Odisha             | 79                              | Bhubaneswar Circle     | 280.00    | 596.99    | 679.52    |
|         6 | West Bengal,       | 136                             | Kolkata Circle         | 448.18    | 549.63    | 537.95    |
|         6 | Sikkim             | 03                              |                        |           |           |           |
|         7 | Tamil Nadu,        | 413                             | Chennai Circle         | 845.00    | 1070.01   | 919.10    |
|         7 | Puducherry (UT)    | 07                              |                        |           |           |           |
|         8 | Punjab             | 33                              | Chandigarh Circle      | 795.92    | 875.85    | 634.98    |
|         8 | Haryana            | 91                              |                        |           |           |           |
|         9 | Himachal Pradesh   | 40                              | Shimla Circle          | 155.86    | 315.00    | 300.00    |
|        10 | Delhi              | 174                             | Delhi Circle           | 1300.19   | 1499.75   | 1176.73   |
|        10 |                    |                                 | Delhi Mini Circle      | -         | -         | -         |
|        11 | Goa                | 21                              | Goa Circle             | 144.50    | 397.36    | 240.99    |
|        12 | Assam              | 55                              | Guwahati Circle        | 174.94    | 292.56    | 395.07    |
|        12 | Manipur            | 01                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        12 | Meghalaya          | 08                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        12 | Mizoram            | 01                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        12 | Nagaland           | 04                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        12 | Tripura            | 08                              | Aizwal Circle, Mijoram |           |           |           |
|        12 | Arunchal Pradesh   | 03                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        13 | Rajasthan          | 162                             | Jaipur Circle          | 521.48    | 610.00    | 512.98    |
|        13 |                    |                                 | Jodhpur Circle         | ---       | 569.96    | 729.29    |
|        14 | Andhra Pradesh     | 129                             | Hyderabad Circle       | 1068.43   | 998.32    | 776.61    |
|        14 | Telangana          | 08                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        15 | Bihar              | 70                              | Patna Circle           | 263.00    | 414.99    | 374.99    |
|        16 | Jammu &            | 56                              | Srinagar Circle        | 260.00    | 443.00    | 135.07    |
|        16 | Kashmir            | 13                              | Mini Circle Leh        | 116.83    | 141.98    | 131.50    |
|        17 | Kerala             | 28                              | Thrissur Circle        | 455.00    | 647.19    | 659.99    |
|        18 | Gujarat            | 203                             | Vadodara Circle        | 655.00    | 847.99    | 1123.07   |
|        18 | Daman & Diu(UT)    | 12                              |                        |           |           |           |
|        19 | Uttarakhand        | 42                              | Dehradun Circle        | 210.49    | 264.99    | 215.00    |
|        20 | Chhattisgarh       | 47                              | Raipur Circle          | 468.40    | 587.89    | 670.33    |
|        21 | Jharkhand          | 13                              | Ranchi Circle          | 69.00     | 115.98    | 147.61    |

|       | Chemical Preservation (All India)   | 510.85   | 787.65   | 729.60   |
|-------|-------------------------------------|----------|----------|----------|
|       | Horticultural Activity (All India)  | 2446.05  | 3357.98  | 3878.22  |
|       | Reserve                             |          |          |          |
| Total |                                     | 16963.86 | 23551.95 | 23861.24 |