EXCAVATION AND CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES IN NALANDA

AVAILABILITY OF STAFF UNDER ASI Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today said that, Government is providing adequate funds and resources to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for archaeological excavations and conservation work in Nalanda. Local communities are involved in excavations and conservation work, which provide employment to local people along with enabling them to participate in the preservation of heritage. Nalanda has come up as a popular tourist destination, achieved through archaeological excavation, conservation of ancient structures, landscaping and environmental development for better presentation of monuments to visitors, providing various visitors facilities etc. Further, considering its Outstanding Universal Values, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed Nalanda on the World Heritage List in the year 2016. Replying to a separate question in the Lok Sabha today Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that: There are 3686 protected monuments and protected areas (Archaeological sites) across the country, which are looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Circle-wise details are given at Annexure-I. Details of total number of sanctioned staff at each of the ASI circles, in-position and vacancies, circle and category-wise are given at Annexure-II. Contractual staff like Data Entry Operators Skilled/Semi-skilled labour, security staff are engaged by the circles as per need and availability of resource. There are 143 protected monuments across the country under Archeological Survey of India where entry fee is charged. The Circle-wise details of footfall are given at Annexure-III. The Circle-wise allocation and expenditure on conservation and maintenance is given at Annexure-IV. ANNEXURE-I CIRCLE-WISE DETAILS OF PROTECTED MONUMENTS AND PROTECTED AREAS (SITES) UNDER THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Sl.No. Name of Circle Number of Protected Monuments and Protected Areas (Sites) Agra Circle 154 Aizawl Circle 11 Amaravati Circle 135 Aurangabad Circle 75 Bangalore Circle 129 Bhopal Circle 183 Bhubaneswar Circle 42 Chandigarh Circle 124 Chennai Circle 257 Dehradun Circle 43 Delhi Circle 170 Dharwad Circle 282 Goa Circle 21 Guwahati Circle 70 Hampi Circle 95 Hyderabad Circle 08 Jabalpur Circle 108 Jaipur Circle 88 Jhansi Circle 170 Jodhpur Circle 73 Kolkata Circle 86 Leh Mini-circle 15 Lucknow Circle 196 Meerut Circle 82 Mumbai Circle 117 Nagpur Circle 94 Patna Circle 70 Puri Circle 40 Raipur Circle 46 Raiganj Circle 52 Rajkot Circle 51 Ranchi Circle 14 Sarnath Circle 132 Shimla Circle 40 Srinagar Circle 56 Tiruchirapalli Circle 162 Thrissur Circle 30 Vadodara Circle 165 Total 3686 ANNEXURE-II TOTAL NUMBER OF SANCTIONED STAFF AT EACH OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA CIRCLES, IN-POSITION AND VACANCIES, CIRCLE AND CATEGORY-WISE Sl. No. Name of Circle/ Offices/ Branches Sanctioned Strength In-Position Vacancies Category-wise Staff position UR OBC EWS SC ST Agra Circle 552 420 132 142 167 12 88 11 Aizawl Circle 29 17 12 4 4 1 4 4 Amaravati Circle 358 249 109 60 115 8 50 16 Aurangabad Circle 229 78 151 34 23 0 16 5 Bangalore Circle 290 204 86 64 68 16 42 14 Bhopal Circle 393 192 201 71 69 4 25 23 Bhubaneswar Circle 151 75 76 41 20 3 7 4 Chandigarh Circle 161 118 43 59 22 1 33 3 Chennai Circle 239 170 69 61 62 4 35 8 Dehradun Circle 92 66 26 48 9 0 1 8 Delhi Circle 622 464 158 240 91 7 108 18 Dharwad Circle 355 252 103</spa