At a time when more monuments and architectural sites in Karnataka are crying out for attention, the monetary allocation for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to maintain central protected monuments in the state has been curtailed.
The funds allocation for 2012-13 will be Rs17.55 crore as against the Rs19.85 crore that had been earmarked in 2011-12, Union minister for culture and housing and urban poverty alleviation Kumari Selja announced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The allocation for 2011-12 too had been truncated earlier—from Rs22.28 crore the previous year.
The Karnataka government, for its part, has submitted proposals for the protection of monuments and buildings in Mysore, Bangalore, Belgaum and Gulbarga. All proposals for the current financial year have been approved by a high-level committee.
There are 507 central protected monuments in the state that come under the purview of the ASI, which is mandated to preserve monuments and sites declared to be of national importance, without compromising their authenticity. Further, 765 protected monuments fall under the ambit of the department of archaeology, monuments and heritage of the state government.
A series carried by DNA in April on architectural sites of Karnataka had found that most monuments in the state, especially those in Bangalore, were in a dire need for maintenance as well as urgent repair.
The common refrain of ASI officials on the state of affairs of various sites was “inadequate funds”.
And now with this fresh cut in funds, the city’s heritage can only crumble further.
