State govt draws flak for ‘turning blind eye’ to heritage

Representatives from INTACH,Deccan College and State Archaeology Department are members of this committee,which shapes the policy and procedure for heritage conservation within PMC limits.

Minutes of the meetings of the committee,accessed under RTI,show that since 2010,there have been 56 meetings of the committee. Other than the one on September 12,2012,the State Archaeology Department had not been present in any of the meetings. In fact,in the above time,the meeting of the committee was cancelled once (January 9,2012) for want of quorum.

The minutes state that on August 22,2012,the president of the committee Mandlekar had taken strong objection to the absence of members and officials from the meetings. He has been quoted as saying that as the committee has representations from various important and learned quarters,it is expected that members make themselves available for it.

V N Kamble,assistant director of archaeology,said as the officers of the department are often out on field work,they are not able to attend the meetings. “Also,we do not get ample intimation of the meetings,” he said.

Dhawale agreed to the absence of the department and said timely intimation is sent to the officers. “Their presence is necessary as they can help us preserve our structures,” he said.

Former member of the committee Sujit Patwardhan felt that both the state department and the PMC are not serious about heritage conservation. “The heritage committee as it is has lost its teeth and has only powers of recommendation.”