Hyderabad heritage activists decry planned amendments to Monuments Act

HYDERABAD: Heritage activists and officials from the city on Tuesday decried the contents of the bill that seeks to lift the ban on constructions near protected monuments. They claimed this would further dilute the existing law.

Speaking to Express, Milan Kumar Chauley, Superintending Archaeologist of ASI-Hyderabad, said, “It’s not as if anyone can take up construction. There are authorities to decide the merits of construction. However, if it’s amended, it becomes a matter of time until someone takes advantage of the law.”

“The law is faulty at the first place. It was implemented in 1958 taking into consideration other countries Act. However, in other countries there are mechanisms of compensation and rehabilitation unlike India. We encounter this during our field visits, where people come up to us and plead us not to evict them because they do not have anywhere else to go,” Chauley said.

He added, “Either the whole law has to be rethought and reframed or the government should take a firm decision and acquire the land surrounding the monuments. The Ministry of Culture and State government have to sit and talk about it.”

Heritage activists irked

Meanwhile, historians and heritage activists slammed the proposed bill. “Nobody is saying development should not take place. But, it should not come at the cost of our heritage. The city’s heritage sites are already languishing from bad management, poor upkeep and encroachment. If the amendment is passed, it would further weaken the law and encourage such activities,” Mohammaed Safiullah, a historian told the Express.

“It’s the norm for bills to be sent to select committees. Why was this bill, which has huge ramifications, being pushed through without being referred to the committee?” asked Anuradha Reddy, INTACH convener. Reddy opined that the law should be opened up for discussion since monuments are public properties.

As per the Bill, the relevant Central government department, that seeks to carry out the construction should make an application to the competent authority - National Monuments Authority. However, another ASI official is not convinced. “The people who form National Monuments Authority are mostly bureaucrats who do not have any knowledge or have dealt with the Monuments Act. The members are mostly IAS, and IFS officers and the chairman is usually a professor,” the official said.

What the law says
According to The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains law enacted in 1958, any kind of construction is prohibited within the 100m vicinity of a monument. However, in 2017, the Centre introduced the amendment bill which if passed will allow construction of public works in the prohibited areas