Few monuments in Haryana are protected by government, fall to disrepair

As per the public listing of the Department of Archaeology and Museums, which is tasked with the upkeep and maintenance of heritage structures, only 125 historical structures in the state enjoy government protection at the moment. This number is too small when compared with the total number of monuments in the state.

Haryana’s landscape is dotted by scores of historical monuments, however, only a small fraction are under government protection. In the absence of any cover, these monuments have fallen into disrepair, been encroached upon and continue to deteriorate.

As per the public listing of the Department of Archaeology and Museums, which is tasked with the upkeep and maintenance of heritage structures, only 125 historical structures in the state enjoy government protection at the moment. This number is too small when compared with the total number of monuments in the state.

“Ninety-one monuments in Haryana are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, 34 monuments are under the protection of the state department, which has a list of 46 unprotected monuments. Sixteen of these unprotected monuments fall in Gurugram district. The list was updated sometime mid-last year,” said Banani Bhattacharyya, deputy director, Department of Archaeology and Museums.

While there are various crucial factors at play, officials from the department say the process of taking up heritage sites for conservation is slow and tedious.

“The process of taking a monument under state protection involves a number of stages. It starts with an inspection of the site, which is followed by collection of revenue records, and a report from the deputy commissioner. All these details are compiled into a file which is sent to the chief minister for review and approval. After the CM’s approval, the application is processed and notification process is started, which also involves a number of stages,” informed Bhattacharyya.

She added that the process often gets delayed further when there is a legal battle or the structure is owned by private individuals. Factoring all the due processes involved, it roughly takes anywhere between eight to 10 months for any monument to come completely under state protection, she said.

“If there is pending litigation, we have to wait for it to get resolved before we take up the monument. Similarly, if private individuals have a stake in a heritage structure, we need to reach out to all the involved stakeholders before proceeding with negotiations. These things take time, and the process becomes lengthy,” Bhattacharyya said.

Heritage experts, however, said that more than the length of the listing process, it was the shortage of resources that have crippled the department.

“The problems plaguing the departments could have a greater role in slowing down the listing process (than any other factor). Their department is short-staffed and the network across the state is bad. There are some people sitting in Chandigarh, and the department doesn’t even have an office in Gurugram or other important towns,” said Parul Munjal, associate professor at the Sushant School of Art and Architecture.

Munjal added that monuments under state protection were no better. A case in point can be the Sheesh Mahal in Farrukhanagar. When the Hindustan Times visited the site last year, it found that the place was hardly seeing any tourist footfall due to lax arrangements.

Senior officials from the department admitted that shortage of staff was a major problem point.

“We do not have sufficient technical staff with us. Without technical staff, it is very difficult to protect all the heritage monuments in the state,” said a senior official from the department on condition of anonymity.

Bhattacharyya, however, said that the department had plans of increasing the number of seats offered by it. “Nothing can be said with certainty. However, we are trying to get more technical staff on board gradually. The department is constantly striving to take more monuments under its fold,” she added.

How to protect a monument

1-Site inspection of the historical site or structure.

2-Collection of reports from revenue department and district administration. If there is any encroachment or other issues at play on the site such as the area, population density, distance from main road, width of the road, etc.

3-Site inspection report, reports from revenue department and DC’s report are put together and sent for CM’s review and approval

4- After approval, application is processed for notification

5- Preliminary notification is issued after all necessary documents are sent to a legal representative for vetting

6-Preliminary notification is sent to all stakeholders and concerned authorities and stakeholders

7- If any objection is raised within two months, state investigates and takes action to resolve conflict

8-After all concerns are addressed, final notification is processed. For this, the file is sent to additional chief secretary, after which it is again sent to legal representative for vetting

9-Final gazette notification is issued.