Terracotta temple in Gumla district of Jharkhand in the list of national importance
A terracotta temple in Jharkhand’s Gumla district has been identified for declaration as a monument of national importance, Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy told Parliament on Monday.
The minister said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
At present, there are 3,697 ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains that are of national importance and are under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Reddy was asked if there was any plan to include more sites as sites of national importance.
“One monument, namely the Terracotta Brick Temple at Doisa Nagar in Gumla district of Jharkhand, has been identified for declaration as a monument of national importance. However, Shahapur Fort is not in the list of monuments of national importance,” Reddy said in his response.
Shahpur Fort located outside Daltonganj is a historical heritage.
Jharkhand has 13 ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains declared of national importance.
Reddy also shared data on expenditure incurred on conservation and maintenance of these sites in Jharkhand in the last five years.
The expenditure figure was Rs 0.86 crore in 2018-19, Rs 0.88 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 2 crore in 2022-23.
In a separate question, Reddy was also asked about the 70 ASI sites in Bihar.
He shared the data of expenditure incurred on conservation and maintenance of these sites in Bihar in the last five years.
The expenditure figure was Rs 1.76 crore in 2018-19, Rs 1.23 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 9 crore in 2022-23. Sharing data on the revenue collected from the 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.
Responding to another question, Reddy said ASI, in technical collaboration with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics, had launched a mobile application called “Indian Heritage” in September that contains information on protected monuments and areas with textual content. And there is help in this. Interactive digital maps. He said the current phase of the app covers 143 ticketed monuments with the ASI.
