Understanding the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act

The AMASR Act is a crucial piece of legislation in India, enacted with the purpose of preserving and safeguarding the country's rich cultural assets and heritage.

• The Act was legislated in 1958 and has seen numerous amendments over the years to adapt to the changing circumstances and needs.

An Overview of the AMASR Act

• The AMASR Act characterizes an "ancient monument" as any structure, building, cave, sculpture, inscription, or monolith that holds historical, archaeological, or artistic significance.
• The primary objective of the Act is to ensure the preservation and protection of such monuments for future generations.
• The Act applies to all monuments that are over 100 years old, irrespective of whether they are publicly or privately owned.
• The Act forbids any construction or alteration in the protected area surrounding ancient monuments without the approval of the National Monuments Authority (NMA) .
• This protected area is defined as a 100-metre radius around the monument, with a regulated area extending up to 200 metres beyond that.
• The NMA is the regulatory body tasked with the implementation of the AMASR Act.
  • It is a statutory body that supervises the protection and preservation of ancient monuments and archaeological sites in India.
  • The NMA has the authority to grant permission for any construction or developmental activity within the protected and regulated areas.

Current Restrictions on Construction Activities Near Protected Monuments:

• The AMASR Act imposes a prohibition on construction within a 100-metre radius of protected monuments and enforces strict regulations for obtaining construction permits in an additional 200-metre radius beyond that.
• All 3,696 protected monuments in the country are subject to this prohibition, and any construction or related activity in these areas requires specific approval from the National Monuments Authority.

Anticipated Amendments to the AMASR Act

It is expected that a new AMASR Amendment Bill will be introduced in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.

• As per official sources, the current Act imposes restrictions on many areas that could potentially be used for developmental and infrastructure-related work.
• The planned amendments aim to provide some relief in these restricted zones, especially for smaller monuments such as statues, cemeteries, and cannons, where the protected area may not need to be as extensive.
• The proposed amendments to the AMASR Act are intended to provide some flexibility in the protected zones, especially for smaller monuments that do not require a large restricted area for their preservation.

Future of Restrictions for UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• However, for UNESCO World Heritage Sites (India has 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites), these restrictions may remain in place as construction in regulated and prohibited zones could potentially impact these heritage structures.
• The Indian government is committed to adhering to UNESCO’s concept of protecting all world heritage sites.