Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Tourism seems to be not keen on protecting and safeguarding heritage sites. The development work undertaken by it under the Swadeshi Darshan Scheme of the Union government at Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple has failed to follow the heritage norms set by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Archaeologists and town planners have flayed the authorities for the work violating the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
However, the Kerala State Department of Archaeology, the agency responsible for taking action, has turned a blind eye. Paved granite walkway and covered heritage walkway are some of the components of the Swadeshi Darshan scheme being implemented violating the heritage norms. The Union government has sanctioned Rs 87.44 crore to provide tourism infrastructure for the devotees at the temple.
Chief town planner K.S. Girija told DC that the construction was taken up without the consent of the Art and Heritage Commission. “They are carrying out the work without the approval from the committee. When the proposal came to us, we put forward many recommendations. The sites around Fort Wall and Padmanabha temple are of immense heritage value,” said Ms Girija, who heads the committee.
None of the recommendations put forward by the committee was taken into consideration. “We carried out a joint inspection of the project sites along with the officials executing the project eight months back. But they decided to go ahead rejecting our recommendations. We even brought the issue to the notice of the government,” she said.
Minister for Museums, Archaeology and Archives Kadannapally Ramacha-ndran said that he was not aware of the violations and added that he would look into the matter.
Member of Art and Heritage Commission N. Ramaswamy said it was a heritage zone and that the governments must obey the norms just like normal residents. “This is a clear violation of the norms and as per the Act, and any alteration done without prior permission should be restored,” he said.
