Over 320 instances of encroachments have been reported at centrally protected monuments in the country and 24 monuments remain untraceable, Union Minister of Culture Prahlad Singh Patel informed Lok Sabha on Monday.
In reply to a query on whether the government has prepared a database of all monuments of national and international importance, the minister said the National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities has documented about 1,83,345 built heritage sites from various secondary sources in uniform format for its database, including the centrally protected and unprotected monuments.
The state-wise monuments of national importance protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is 3,691, he said.
"There are instances of encroachments at 321 centrally protected monuments. Besides, the Archaeological Survey of India has a list of 24 monuments which remain untraceable," Patel informed the Lower House.
The Archaeological Survey of India has made efforts to locate and identify the untraceable monuments through field offices based on inspection, old records, revenue maps and published reports, he said.
Meanwhile the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), has identified and documented till date about 70,000 heritage properties in approximately 500 towns.
The list not only includes ASI and state archaeology protected buildings (national and state importance), but also buildings and sites of regional and local significance, the minister added.
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