The Hindu 18.08.2009
Centre keen to safeguard heritage structures
Staff Reporter
| Passage of bill will help codify several historical buildings |
— Photo: M. Moorthy 
Welcome: M. Ponnavaikko, Vice-Chancellor, Bharathidasan University, right, greets V. Narayanasamy, Union Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, at the inaugural of the third International Conference on Remote Sensing in Archaeology in Tiruchi on Monday. From left, Lewis Lancaster, Professor of Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and SM. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University,
TIRUCHI: Towards promoting nationalism, the Central Government is keen on identifying and safeguarding all heritage structures depicting diverse cultures, through the machinery of State governments.
Passage of Heritage Site Bill 2009 in Parliament later this year will pave way for codifying and documenting several lakhs of structures of heritage importance (in existence for more than 100 years), including the ones under private ownership, according to V. Narayanasamy, the Union Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture.
At present, there were 3,500 heritage structures under the control of the Central Government, and 3,700 under the care of State governments. There was enormous potential in documenting art and architecture manifesting the entire cultures of ancient times in South India, Mr. Narayanasamy said, inaugurating the third international conference on Remote Sensing in Archaeology, ‘Spacetimeplace-2009’, organised jointly by the Archaeological Survey of India, Temple Survey Project (Southern Region), Chennai, in association with the Bharathidasan University.
The Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) would be empowered to prevent private owners of heritage sites from modifying the structures. The country would leverage its strength in space technology, he said, explaining how facts about the Sethusamudram issue could be determined through remote sensing applications.
Through the technology, documentation would gain authenticity and unsavoury predicaments could be avoided in future, he said, citing the instance of the country’s inability to secure the memorabilia of Mahatma Gandhi due to non-availability of records. Mr. Narayanasamy assured the Centre’s prompt action on the resolutions adopted at the conference.
Presiding over, the Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University, M. Ponnavaikko, said that remote sensing applications not only carry the potential to trace the archaeological evidences of human race, but also helps in analysing geological changes and identifying mineral wealth.
Offering felicitations, the Vice-Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University, SM. Ramasamy, said that archaeological finds were geological markers contributing to better understanding of riverine histories, coastal system, and natural disasters. Other speakers included Lewis Lancaster, Prof. Emeritus, University of California; D. Dayalan, Conference Coordinator; and T. Satyamurthy, Vice-Chairman.
The conference is held for the first time in India. The first conference was organised in October 2004 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. In December 2006, it was held in Rome (Italy) at the National Research Council.
On the last two days of the five-day conference, the participants, mostly comprising foreign delegates, would visit various heritage sites in the State.