ASI announces new circles to promote conservation, protection of ancient sites, monuments

Minister of Tourism and Culture Prahlad Patel on Wednesday announced seven new ASI circles in Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi and Meerut and another in Hampi, which was earlier a mini circle, saying this will provide a massive boost to the development and maintenance of ancient sites in these regions.

Minister of Tourism and Culture Prahlad Patel on Wednesday announced seven new ASI circles in Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi and Meerut and another in Hampi, which was earlier a mini circle, saying this will provide a massive boost to the development and maintenance of ancient sites in these regions. Maintenance of ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance is the prime concern of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and for this, the entire country is divided into 29 circles and three mini-circles. "The Ministry of Culture has taken this step in accordance with the prime minister's call to facilitate and strengthen the process of preservation and registration of archaeological monuments along with registration of artefacts with self declaration," the minister said while announcing the new circles. The minister informed that new circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat.

"Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi and Meerut have been announced as new circles. "In archaeology, the Hampi city in Karnataka is a place of international repute, hence Hampi Mini Circle has been converted into a full fledged circle," Patel said. In West Bengal, Raiganj has been made a new circle along with Kolkata and this will eliminate geographical inconvenience in a big state like Bengal, he said. In Gujarat, Rajkot has been announced a new circle along with Vadodara. Patel said that Jabalpur has been announced a new circle along with Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. This will include the monuments from Jabalpur, Rewa, Shahdol and Sagar divisions, he said. The minister also said that Jhansi in Bundelkhand and Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh have been announced two new circles along with Lucknow and Agra in the state.

The ASI has also merged the Delhi mini circle with the Delhi circle and the Hampi mini circle has been expanded to a full fledged circle by attaching a few districts from the Dharwar circle. The various circles and its aligned offices are an important part of the conservation of ancient sites. They undertake village to village surveys, archaeological explorations, problem-oriented projects, identification of monuments for protection, conservation, preservation, management and general upkeep of centrally protected monuments.