Parliamentary Panel Slams Ministry Of Culture Over Lack Of Seriousness On 'Untraceable Monuments'

A parliamentary committee slammed the Ministry of Culture over its lack of seriousness on 'Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India'.

Representative image of stone carvings at a temple.

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A Parliamentary Committee slammed the Union Ministry of Culture over its "lack of seriousness" in taking action on the recommendations the panel had sent last year. The ministry provided action-taken notes on only 21 out of the 35 recommendations made in a Parliamentary panel relating to "untraceable monuments". Following this, the committee in a report expressed 'deep concern and disappointment at this apparent "lack of seriousness" on the ministry's part in responding to its recommendations. The committee report was forwarded to the Ministry of Culture for necessary action on June 15 last year, reported news agency PTI.

PTI quoted the committee as saying in a statement: "The ministry not only failed to send an interim reply within the stipulated period of three months but also failed to respond to the multiple reminders issued by the Secretariat throughout 2022 and 2023. The Ministry could manage to provide Action Taken Notes (ATNs), on only 21 out of the total of 35 recommendations as contained in the 324th Report, by 4th October, 2023, i.e., after a period of 1 year and 19 days."

The committee added that 'disregarding or trivialising' its views not only undermines the trust but also the credibility and seriousness of the ministry, PTI reported.

The report titled, 'Issues relating to Untraceable Monuments and Protection of Monuments in India', was presented in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Friday, according to a statement issued by the Rajya Sabha secretariat. The committee in a statement reiterated that the Ministry and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) must 'conduct the survey for identifying monuments on priority, in a time-bound manner'. The committee added that the details and criteria for the classification of monuments may also be furnished, PTI reported. 

The committee recommends that the results of the survey 'must be placed in the public domain' and it should include the data relating to expenditure incurred on them along with the problems related to the monuments.

The panel noted that since the said monuments come under the jurisdiction of the state government, the ministry should work in coordination with state governments to take the required action in this case immediately, as reported by PTI.