India’s invaluable treasures, the monuments of national importance, stand as cultural gems shielded by vigilant guards to prevent any harm or encroachment. Keeping this in mind, currently as many as 248 monuments/museums of national importance under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have security guards, as per the Government data.
However, a significant number of them i.e. 94 per cent are left unattended, lacking security personnel. There are a total 3,693 Centrally protected monuments (CPMs) across the States.
Expressing its dismay over the low percentage of CPMs that have security guards and the insufficient number of personnel to meet the requirements, a Department-related Parliamentary Panel on Transport, Tourism and Culture has asked the Government to ensure adequate funds so as to ensure safety of these heritage structures as well as safety of tourists visiting these spots.
In its report tabled in Parliament on Friday, the panel noted that security guards are posted at only 248 CPMs/sites/museums i.e. less than about 6.7 per cent of the total number of CPMs.
“Also, out of the total requirement of 7,000 personnel for protection of monuments, the Government could provide only 2,578 security personnel at 248 locations due to budgetary constraints,” said the panel led by Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy.
Taking the stringent view that budgetary constraints should not be an excuse for not providing security guards to protect our rich cultural heritage, the panel reminded the authorities that, “it is the duty of the Government of the day to protect our cultural heritage sites.”
The Committee, therefore, recommends that a budget may be provided by the Government to appoint 7,000 personnel for protection of the monuments or as per the study conducted by IIT, Delhi.
The Committee also suggested the Union Culture Ministry overseeing the ASI to conduct an urgent thorough assessment of the security requirements and budgetary allocation required for the same and “a strong case may be made to the Ministry of Finance requesting allocation of additional funds for this purpose so as to ensure a basic state of protection for all the monuments across the country to preserve them for generations to come.”
The Committee also recommended that the local panchayats and police may be involved in safeguarding the monuments and if necessary, the AMASR Act may be amended in this regard.
The Ministry in its reply told the panel about the pact inked between ASI and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi on collaboration for providing expertise in the field of security and surveillance on monuments, sites, museums, and offices.
The panel has also sought amendment in the AMASR Act ensuring provisions for fixing accountability of concerned Government officials to ensure that necessary steps are taken timely for tackling encroachment of Centrally Protected Monuments.
“The concerned officials should be liable to be prosecuted in case of gross negligence of their duties with regard to tackling encroachment of CPMs. The Committee further recommends that the Ministry may examine the powers given to District Forest Officers (DFOs) under The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and consider granting similar powers to ASI officials in order to effectively curb the issue of encroachment of Centrally Protected Monuments,” it said.
However, it was not only that many CPMs were lacking security personnel. In fact the ASI too is suffering with acute staff shortage, noted the panel.
“In the Archaeology Cadre of ASI, against the total sanctioned strength of 420, the vacant positions are 166, similarly in the Conservation Cadre, against the total strength of 918, there is a mammoth vacancy of 452 positions.
“The situation is not any better in other Cadres of ASI or other organisations of the Ministry. The Committee thus finds it difficult to understand how the Ministry can ensure the efficiency of its organizations and manage to meet the present human resource needs of the respective organisations, leave alone there being any scope for new initiatives by the organizations,” said the committee in its report.
It suggested the Ministry to set up a foolproof mechanism in place to ensure that the staffing requirements of all its organisations are met at all times, so as to enable them to carry out their mandate in letter and spirit.
The panel also picked gaps in the website of ASI, calling it “poorly designed” with many features as yet inoperative and a general lack of information on the work of the ASI as well as the built cultural heritage of India.
“The ASI should highlight the CPMs and the lesser known monuments on its website and stimulate the interest of the public regarding their maintenance as well as raise the profile of Missing Monuments among the general public,” it said.