Amid Keezhadi Row In Tamil Nadu, Centre Denies ASI Sought 'Revised Report' On Site From State Archaeology Dept
New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has not requested any "revised report" on Keezhadi site from the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology, the Centre informed Parliament on Monday.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said this in the Lok Sabha in a written response to a query by DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran.
The Keezhadi excavation in Tamil Nadu has of late been a contentious issue between the Centre and the state government, with some DMK leaders accusing the BJP-led government of exerting pressure on archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna, who led the excavation, to "change" his findings.
On June 10, Union minister Shekhawat had said that further studies were needed to validate the ASI findings on an ancient civilisation at Keezhadi (also referred to as Keeladi) in Sivaganga district, his statements drawing sharp reactions from some members of the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Maran, in his query in the Lok Sabha, asked the details of the "specific scientific accuracy concerns" raised by the ASI that "necessitated requesting a revised report from the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology regarding the Keezhadi excavation finding".
Shekhawat in his response said, "The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has not requested for any revised report on Keezhadi from the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology." The Union minister was also asked details of the "additional excavation phases and funding support" being provided by ASI for the tenth phase of Keezhadi excavation that began on June 18, 2024, which has already "identified six terracotta pipelines and various urban settlement structures", to which he replied, “Question does not arise.” Shekhawat was also asked details regarding the "coordination mechanism" established between the ASI and the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology to "ensure scientific integrity in future excavation reports from the Vaigai river valley archaeological site".
“Since 2018, Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology is conducting excavations at the site, for which ASI does not provide any funding support,” the minister said.
The ASI provides permission for excavations as per the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and Rules 1959 and ensures implementation of the Act. It also provides technical support, as and when requested by any agency, including the State Department of Archaeology, the Union minister said.
On May 29, the Ministry of Culture had issued a statement in the context of the Keezhadi excavation.
"The Archaeological Survey of India regularly publishes the reports of sites excavated under the aegis of Director General, ASI. Great emphasis is given to this aspect, since much time, energy and money is spent on every excavation work and the basic purpose of the excavation work otherwise, remains unfulfilled," it had said.
In a set process, after the submission of the reports by the excavators, those are then sent to various subject experts, who are requested to “vet the reports for publication," it had said.
"Various alterations, as suggested by the subject experts, are carried out by the excavators and resubmitted finally for publication. These are then published as Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India (MASI)," the ministry had said.
"The same procedure was adopted in case of the Keeladi report, wherein the report was sent for vetting to experts. Accordingly, the excavator of the Keeladi has been communicated the suggestions of the experts for making necessary correction in the draft report submitted by him, but he did not carry out the correction till date," the statement had said.
According to an official order of June 17, Ramakrishna has been “transferred” out of the ASI headquarters here and now holds only the charge of the director of National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA).
Earlier, he held the position of Director (Antiquity) at the ASI headquarters, besides being the director of the NMMA, Greater Noida.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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