After lull, heritage authority readies bye-laws for 101 sites across country

NEW DELHI: The National Monuments Authority (NMA) has finalised heritage bye-laws for 101 protected sites covering 126 structures in various states. These regulations were ready around January 2020 however the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) couldn’t initiate a consultation exercise to give them final shape due to workload and the coronavirus pandemic.

NMA chairman Tarun Vijay said that a separate department comprising four experts, which is headed by a conservation architect, was created to speed up the task by leaps and bounds. As mandated by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act 2010, there should be separate bye-laws for all 3,693 heritage sites or monuments under the jurisdiction of ASI. And these rules were to be framed by 2012. However, in the last 10 years till January 2020, by-laws only for five monuments or sites were cleared. 

The NMA was set up as per the provisions of the AMASR Act to deal with permissions being granted for construction and development work in a radius 300 metres around the sites. The authority issues NOC to undertake construction activities in reference to HBLs.   

“The biggest joy and satisfaction was felt in the NMA when we finalised HBLs for the Bishnu temple (Manipur), Jagannath Temple (Puri), Chausath Yogini (Jabalpur), Jagatgrama Ashwamedha site and Lakha Mandal group of Shiva temples (Uttarakhand),” said Vijay.