Jagga writes to Admin to get heritage items notified under Antiquity Act

With the Archaeological Survey of India stating that the Chandigarh heritage items are not art treasures, members of the heritage protection cell suggested the UT Administration to pursue and get the Corbusier heritage items notified under the Antiquity Act since they have been going for lakhs and crores in the foreign markets.

“ASI cannot take any action since these heritage items do not come under the category of the Antiquity or art treasure as per the Antiquity and Art Treasure Act 1972,” ASI had said in an e-mail to Ajay Jagga, following intimation of auction in Paris in the month of May this year.

However, ASI specified that they have apprised the matter with all custom exit channels to prevent illicit trafficking of UT heritage items in view of the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs dated February 22, 2011 for prevention of architectural heritage of Chandigarh.
Jagga, a member of the heritage protection cell, has now written to UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore for the needful.

“The ASI has finally responded on UT’s heritage matter, by stating simple facts i.e UT heritage, as on today, is neither Antiquity nor Art Treasure, as defined under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972. Since, our heritage items are not older than 75 years, so they are not covered under the term antiquity. So, as on today, request is that the Chandigarh Administration may consider that the only way forward (as of today) for its protection is getting it notified as ‘art treasure’ from the Central Government,” Jagga said.