3685 Monuments/Sites in the Country Declared as of National Importance till Date

3685 monuments/sites in the country have been declared as of national importance till date. During the year 2013-14, an amount of Rs. 16963.86 lakhs was allocated for the protection and maintenance of monuments declared as of national importance. As per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, ancient monuments or archaeological sites and remains, as the case may be, which are of historical, archaeological or artistic interest, and have been in existence for not less than 100 years, may be declared by the Central Government as of national importance. The protection and maintenance of monuments, declared as of national importance is taken up by Archaeological Survey of India by way of structural repairs, chemical preservation and environmental development around the monument which is a regular and ongoing process and the required works are taken-up on need basis as per the established principles of conservation, subject to availability of resources. In addition, creating of tourist related amenities (e.g. drinking water, toilet blocks, facilities for physically challenged, pathways, cultural notice boards/signage, vehicle parking, cloak rooms, etc.) at the centrally protected monuments/sites are also the regular activities which the ASI undertakes as per needs and availability of resources.  Proposal to Include ‘Delhi’s Imperial capital cities’ in World Heritage List of UNESCO The State Government of Delhi has proposed UNESCO to include ‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’ among the World Heritage Cities. The nomination dossier of ‘Delhi’s Imperial Capital Cities’ had been forwarded to UNESCO in 2014 for the purpose of its inscription in the World Heritage List. As per the UNESCO Guidelines, after the submission of the nomination dossier, UNESCO sent their own evaluation mission. In October, 2014 an ICOMOS evaluation mission came to evaluate the site. They had asked for some additional information in respect to the property which was forwarded to UNESCO by November 2014. ICOMOS team had called for a meeting on 19th of January 2015 in France and Prof. A.G.K.Menon, Convenor, INTACH Delhi chapter attended the meeting.