The Ministry of Culture has announced 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India. Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), said that 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 informed that new circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat. He said that Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi & 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 added. Earlier there were 29 ASI circles across the country.
He said that in a large state like Tamil Nadu which has thousands of temples and glorious memories of the Chola kings, Trichy has been made a new circle along with the circle of Chennai. Hampi city in Karnataka is a place of international importance from the point of view of archaeological heritage therefore the Hampi Sub-Circle now has been made a new circle. In West Bengal, Raiganj has been made a new circle along with Kolkata, this will eliminate geographical inconvenience in a big state like Bengal. In Gujarat, Rajkot has been announced a new circle along with Vadodara.
Shri 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. The Minister also informed that Jhansi in Bundelkhand and Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh have been announced two new circles along with Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.
