20 hectares land of Taj Heritage Corridor under ASI: Govt to LS

Land area measuring 20 hectares fall in Site-A of the Taj Heritage Corridor and has been given to the Archaeological Survey of India for the development of a garden, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy shared the data in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha. On a query on the present status of greenery in Site-A of the Taj Heritage Corridor opposite the Agra Fort in Agra, he said, “The land area measuring 20 hectare falls in Site-A of the Taj Heritage Corridor is given to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for development of garden”.

In Phase I, 10 hectares have been identified, of which approximately 60 per cent area has already been developed into a garden in a planned manner and the same is being maintained in good condition, Reddy said in his response.

In 2017-18, Rs 0.25 crore (for fencing) was spent, Rs 0.79 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 0.28 crore in 2021-22. The Taj Heritage Corridor is not in the list of identified locations for organising cultural events, Reddy said, and shared a list of guidelines relating to the usage of specific areas of protected monuments or sites for cultural events.

On another query on whether the government proposed to bring in legislation to provide more teeth to the ASI to protect ancient monuments from encroachment, Reddy said, “The government has taken a decision to examine the legal issues related to construction-related activities around centrally protected monuments and sites.”

On a separate query on if the government had prepared a blueprint for reviving the ASI’s Underwater Archaeology Wing of the ASI, the minister said, “The ASI has an Underwater Archaeology Wing since 2001. Recently, an assistant archaeologist has been posted in ASI headquarters specifically to handle matter related to underwater archaeology.”