Lok Sabha Question No. 113 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-11-30
Subject: Advisory Committee on Saraswati River
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, MANOJ RAJORIA

Study

## GOVERNMNT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 113 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.11.2015 AGRAHAYANA 9, 1937 (SAKA)

## ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SARASWATI RIVER

113. SHRI RAHUL SHEWALE: SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT: DR: SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE: DR MANOJ RAJORIA:

Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has constituted an Advisory Committee for a multidisciplinary study of Saraswati River and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the manner by which the Committee will extend their contribution;
- (c) whether the Government has decided to find out the actual source of the river Ganga and Saraswati; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the progress made so far in this regard?

## A NSWER

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

(DR: MAHESH SHARMA )

- (a) The Ministry of Culture has constituted the Advisory Committee for the Multidisciplinary

8

of the Sarasvati basin on 16.09.2015 for a period of two years, which has been

- (b) at Annexure-|, Copy

notified in the Gazettee Notification No. S.O.3019 (E) dated 6' November 2015.

- (c) Madam. ASI efforts in the Saraswati project are given at Annexure-Il. No,
- (d) Meeting of Advisory Committee not called so far:

## MINISTRY OF CULTURE (Archaeological Survey Of India) NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 6th September, 2015

## Constitution of the Advisory Committee for the Multidisciplinary Study of the River Sarasvati

S.O. 3019(E) With a view t0 drawing up a comprehensive programme for the study of the Sarasvati basin, and to identify 16 sites for research and development, the Government of India, Ministry of Culture hereby constitutes Committee for advising the Government of India from time to time On the terms and conditions specified below:

Name: The name of the Committee will be the Advisory Committee for the Multidisciplinary Study of the River Sarasvati (to be called ACMS or Committee hereinafter)

Composition: The Composition of the Committee will be as follows:

| Composition: 1   | The Composition of the Committee will be as follows: Minister of Culture                  | Member           |
|------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------|
| 2                | Secretary (Culture)                                                                       | ~Member          |
| 3                | Secretary (Tourism)                                                                       | ~Member          |
| 4                | Director General; Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)                                    | Member           |
| 5                | Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture                                                      | Member           |
| 6                | Representative of Ministry of Water Resource                                              | Member           |
|                  | Representative of Ministry of Space/ISRO                                                  | Member           |
|                  | Representative of ONGC                                                                    | Memoer           |
| 9                | Representative of Ministry of Environment and Forest                                      | ~Member          |
| 10.              | Representative of Ministry of Urban Development                                           | Member           |
|                  | Shri YS. Rawat, Director of Archaeology (Retd ) (Representative of) Government of Gujarat | ~Member          |
|                  | Chief Engineer, Inter State and Coordination (Representative of Rajasthan)                | ~Member          |
| 13.              | Additional Chief Secretary (Culture/Archaeology (Representative of Government of  Haryana | Member           |
| 14.              | Director (EE), Archaeological Survey of India                                             | Member Secretary |

## Non-Official Members

15. Prof. BB. Lal, New Delhi
16. Shri Darshan Lal Jain, Haryana
17. Shri KN. Dikshit; New Delhi
18. Dr. VMK Puri, Himachal Pradesh
19. Shri Prashant Bharadwaj, Haryana
20. Dr , Amit Jain, New Delhi
21. Shri Bal Mukund, New Delhi
22. Dr KS Valdiya, Bangalore
23. Dr; AR Chaudhri; Haryana
24. Dr: S. Kalyanraman, Chennai
11. Member
12. Member
13. Member
14. Member
15. ~Member
16. Member
17. ~Member
18. Member
19. ~Member
20. Member

Terms of reference: The Committee will advise the Government o the following subjects:

1. To define the Sarasvati river and its basin
2. 2 To indentify special, items of geotechnical nature for study of the Sarasvati basin and to suggest names of competent agencieslindividuals
3. To, identify archaeological sites and areas   for  multidisciplinary research and to assess  their potential for development a8 centres of education and tourism

## Nature and Scope:

The Committee will also identify proper agencies/formation of teams from the Archaeological Survey of India, State   GovernmentsMUniversities and other   Scientific Academic   organizations and bodies for carrying out   field research in specifiedhidentified zones Or places in the area stretching from the Siwaliks to the Rann of Kachchh, Kachchh and the Arabian Sea in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat: falling

Among other the Committee will   identify   subjects of research such as landscape   evolution; environmental changes, history of archaeological cultures with emphasis on the protohistorical era of River Sarasvati in particular and its basin in general by employing remote sensing imagery, integrated GPR survey and strati igraphical &s well as scientific investigation by exploration/excavation for collection of data for geotechnical, palaeobiological and archaeological analyses and research\_ things; special

## Tenure:

The tenure of the Committee will be for two years from the date of its notification.

It shall meet every three months or at

## Expenses:

This issues with the approval of Minister of Culture.

Expenses on the travelling and local hospitality in respect of the non-official members will be borne by the Archaeological Survey of India in the Ministry of Culture, Government of India

[FNo. 21/1/2015-EE (SHP)]

Dr. RAKESH TEWARI, Director General

## SARASVATI HERITAGE PROJECT

The location of Sarasvati in between Yamuna and Sutlej is confirmed by the Rigveda and confirmed through explorers who found a wide, bed running through H.P, Haryana and Rajasthan widely known as Ghaggar with ruined habitations along it, With a view to drawing up a comprehensive   programme for the study of the Srasvati basin 15 sites were identified in 2002-2003 for research and development by the Government of India Ministry of Tourism and Culture dry

The department had already conducted a number of explorations ad excavations in this area such as excavations at Kalibangan (Rajasthan} Rakhigarhi (Haryana) Banawali (Haryana) , Thanesar (Haryana) Dholavira (Gujarat) , etc in but these attempts were not in an integrated manner. past

To achieve the main objective of   the Sarasvati Project it was  decided to excavate sites located on the command area of of Ghaggar. Hence, under the umbrella of this project, excavations were initiated Icarried out at following sites:

| 1   | Bhirrana, Haryana                | 2004-05                              |
|-----|----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| 2   | Hansi, Haryana                   | 2004-05                              |
| 3   | Harsh-ka-Tila, Thenesar, Haryana | 2002-03, 2003-04                     |
| 4   | Adi Badri, Haryana               | 2002-03, 2003-04                     |
| 5.  | Baror, Rajasthan                 | 2003-04 2004-05                      |
| 6   | Chak 86 Rajasthan                | 2003-04                              |
| 7   | Tarkhanwala Dera , Rajasthan     | 2003-04                              |
| 8_  | Juni Karan, Gujarat              | 2003-04,2004-05                      |
| 9   | Dholavira , Gujarat              | 1990-92,1994-95,1996-97 to 1999-2000 |

Interpretation complexes have also been established at Adi Badri (Haryana) and Dholavira (Gujarat).

Apart   from the above   following major   Harappan sites have also been excavated along the Ghaggar-Hakra alignment or important hubs marked in above project:

- 1 Rakhigarhi (Haryana) Excavated by ASI and Deccan College, Pune.

- 2 Girwad (Haryana) Excavated by Deccan College, Pune

- Farmana (Haryana) Excavated by Deccan College, Pune.

- 4 Karanpura (Rajasthan) Excavated by ASI.

- 5 Khirsara (Gujarat) Excavated by ASI.

- 6 Kanmer (Gujarat) Excavated by Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur.

- Binjore (Rajasthan) Excavated by