Central Government has delisted 18 monuments from the list of centrally protected monuments since 2021

¨     Central Government has delisted 18 monuments from the list of centrally protected monuments since 2021.

¨     After these delistings, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) now protects and maintains 3,688 centrally protected monuments and sites across India.

¨    Centrally protected monuments are sites declared to be of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958.

¨     The ASI works under the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for the conservation, protection, and maintenance of these monuments and archaeological sites.

¨  Section 35 of the AMASR Act, 1958 provides the legal basis for delisting monuments that are no longer considered to be of national importance.

¨     A Gazette notification dated 8 March 2024 initiated the process of delisting 18 monuments on this ground.

¨     Once a monument is delisted, the statutory responsibility of the ASI for its conservation and maintenance ends.

¨  Major delisted sites include the Nicholson Statue in Delhi, Kos Minar No. 13 in Gurugram, and the Kos Minar at Shahabad in Haryana.

¨  Other delisted sites include Bara Khamba Cemetery in Delhi, Gunner Burkill’s Tomb in Jhansi, Telia Nala Buddhist Ruins in Varanasi, and an ancient banyan grove in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh.