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Centre delists 18 protected monuments since 2021
The Centre has delisted 18 monuments, including Delhi's Bara Khamba Cemetery and a banyan grove of 'great antiquity', from the protected list since 2021. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the…
The Story in Brief
The Centre has delisted 18 monuments, including Delhi's Bara Khamba Cemetery and a banyan grove of 'great antiquity', from the protected list since 2021. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the sites had ceased to be of national importance under the Ancient Monuments Act. The Archaeological Survey of India now oversees 3,688 centrally protected sites. Separately, India has retrieved 662 artefacts from the US, Australia, UK, and Netherlands till June 2026. The minister also said no audit of compliance with the Public Records Act has been conducted in 12 years because the law does not provide for one.
The Indian Opinion
The delisting of 18 monuments will spark cries of heritage neglect, but the government has a legal process for declaring sites no longer of national importance. The bigger concern is the absence of a Public Records Act audit for 12 years, a gap that undermines transparency across all ministries. The real test will come with the next audit report: will the government disclose how many sites are actually being maintained, or will this remain a black hole?
Sources (2): indiatoday.in, ndtv.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
