New Delhi/Patna: An Ashokan inscription and two ancient mounds in Bihar are currently under consideration for according them the status of centrally-protected monuments, ASI officials have said.
The Patna Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had sent these recommendations for notification in the span of the last 14 years.
"The Ashokan inscription site is in Rohtas district and recommendation for its ASI notification was sent in 2008, followed by recommendations in 2010 and 2021 as well for listing two ancient mounds in Bihar as centrally-protected monuments," a senior official told.
Recommendations for a mound in Junglistan area near Vikramshila site in Bhagalpur district was sent in 2010. And, for listing of Ranivas mound in a different part of Bihar, it was sent in 2021, the official said.
Currently, 70 sites in Bihar are under the ASI, governed under its Patna Circle, one of the oldest regional circles in India.
Sources at ASI headquarters in Delhi said these recommendations sent by the Patna Circle are "under process".
According to the procedure, proposals or recommendations sent in a form of meticulous documents by regional circles are examined by a team at ASI headquarters, before making the final decision.
First, there is a provisional notification, and then a final gazetted notification is issued.
There are a total of 3,693 heritage sites in India protected by the ASI. Many of these are UNECSO World Heritage Sites such as Agra's Taj Mahal, Delhi's Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb; and the ruins of ancient Nalanda university in Bihar.
The Shiva Temple in Gaya was notified by the ASI in 1996. No fresh site in Bihar has been brought under the ambit of the ASI since then, officials said.
"The ancestral house of first President Rajendra Prasad in Ziradei, Siwan, north Bihar was officially declared a protected monument on May 27, 1991. Its provisional notification was done on October 30, 1990," a senior official said.