No court directive to declare Ram Setu as national monument

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) The government today denied that it had been directed by the Madras High Court to declare the Ram Setu between India and Sri Lanka as a national monument under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Culture and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said that ''as per the scientific evidence available so far, Ram Setu does not fulfil the criteria to be declared as a monument of national importance under the 1958 Act.'' The minister also informed that no archaeological survey had been conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in this regard.

She, however, admitted that several representations had been made to the government by socio-religious organisations and some MPs to declare the Ram Setu as a national monument.

Some petitions had also been filed before courts in this regard, Ms Soni informed.

Replying to another query, she said there was no provision in the 1958 Act to declare a village as 'cultural village'. The query was made by Congress member Harish Rawat, who wanted to know whether Dwarahat and Adibadri villages in Uttarakhand were to be declared as ''cultural villages'.

Ms Soni, however, informed that there were 42 monuments/sites in Uttarakhand which had been declared as of national importance.

UNI