Karnataka, which is replete with thousands of unprotected monuments, has embarked on a survey to document the same. What began with a pilot project in Mysuru taluk in 2019-20 has become an annual exercise entailing listing and updating the inventory of monuments and historical structures that are unprotected, either by the State or the Centre.
The project has been taken up by the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage (DAMH), and all the taluks will be covered in phases. As of now, 20 taluks will be covered as part of the survey and documentation exercise during the current financial year (2022-23).
The 20 taluks are Magadi, Devanahalli, Khanapura, Bhadravati, Ranebennur, Shahabad, Kampli, Sandur, Kalagi, Aland, Challakere, Sulya, Puttur, Chikkamagaluru, Somwarpet, Kushalnagar, H.D. Kote, Pandavpura, Hunsur and K.R. Nagar.
Though ₹35 lakh has been earmarked for the survey for the current year, if required, additional amount will be released. The scope of the survey will be expanded to cover more taluks in the coming years with higher budgetary allocation, said A. Devaraju, Commissioner, DAMH.
The documentation is both timely and inevitable, as there is a threat of some of the historical monuments or their ruins disappearing altogether during use of land for agriculture, housing or infrastructure works.
While Mysuru taluk was covered in 2019-20, five taluks were taken up in 2020-21, 13 taluks were covered during 2021-22, and the project has now gained traction with 20 taluks being covered this year.
‘’The survey will cover inscriptions, hero stones, places of worship, remains of forts, ruins of historical structures, stepped tanks, pillars, citadels, and gateways, and is the first such exercise being undertaken in Karnataka,” said Mr. Devaraju.
It is reckoned that there are nearly 30,000 unprotected monuments in Karnataka, and the survey will help quantify their exact figure.
‘’More important, we will also prepare an action-to-be-taken report as to what needs to be done in future with the monuments, and whether they need to be relocated for conservation, or be flagged for in-situ conservation if demanded by villagers,” said Mr. Devaraju.
Scholars and experts will also assess if there are any new discoveries that fulfill the criteria of being declared as a monument of State or national importance.
At present, Karnataka has 844 monuments of State importance. They are protected under the Karnataka Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1961. This is apart from 609 centrally protected monuments of national importance coming under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The current survey will exclude these monuments.
