A terracotta temple in Jharkhand’s Gumla district has been identified for declaring as a monument of national importance, Union minister of culture G. Kishan Reddy told Parliament on Monday.
The minister said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha.
At present, there are 3,697 ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains that are of national importance and under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Reddy was asked if there was a plan to include more sites as those of national importance.
“One monument, namely the terracotta bricks temple at Doisa Nagar in district Gumla, Jharkhand, has been identified for declaring it as a monument of national importance. However, Shahpur Fort is not on the list of monuments of national importance,” Reddy said in his response.
Shahpur Fort is a historical heritage situated outside Daltonganj.
There are 13 ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains declared as of national importance in Jharkhand.
Reddy also shared data on the expenditure on the conservation and maintenance of these sites in Jharkhand in the past five years.
In 2018-19, the expenditure figure stood at Rs 0.86 crore, Rs 0.88 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 2 crore in 2022-23.
Reddy, in a separate question, was also asked about the 70 ASI sites in Bihar.
He shared data on the expenditure on the conservation and maintenance of these sites in Bihar in the past five years.
In 2018-19, the expenditure figure stood at Rs 1.76 crore, Rs 1.23 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 9 crore in 2022-23. Sharing data on the revenue collected from five ticketed monuments in Bihar, Reddy said the amount stood at Rs 0.87 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 3.89 crore in 2022-23.
In response to another query, Reddy said the ASI, in technical collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Application and Geoinformatics, launched a mobile application called “Indian Heritage” in September that contains information on protected monuments and areas with textual content and is aided by interactive digital maps. The current phase of the app incorporates 143 ticketed monuments with the ASI, he added.
