State-protected monuments in state 383 now
Bhopal: Process of preserving archaeological and historic monuments in the state is on continuously. As a result, number of State-protected monuments has gone up to 383. Till year 2003, only 289 monuments were State-protected.
Monuments have been persevered on a large scale in the state during last 9 years. Important among these are monuments at Orchha, Gwalior, Narwar, Burhanpur, Mandla, Vyas Bhadora and Mandu. State Museum was constructed in year 2005, which one the best in the country. Information about all galleries of State Museum has been given on departmental websitewww.mparchaeology.org through virtual tools. Besides, Holkar Gallery has been set up at Rajwada Monument, Indore and Museum of Nawab-era art and culture at Gol Ghar, Bhopal.
For collecting information about Madhya Pradesh’s monuments, a number of publications have been brought out including “Known and Unknown Encyclopedia of Historical Monuments of Madhya Pradesh, “50 years As Capital of Bhopal”, “Painted Rock Shelter of India” and “Masterpieces of Madhya Pradesh under vintage series of Madhya Pradesh, Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior. Four volumes of records of India’s first freedom movement in 1857 were also published. Volume-1 of book based on Colonel Sleeman’s letters will be published soon.
For the first time, Archaeology Department instituted Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Vakankar Samman in year 2006 and started honouring established scholars. For disseminating information about state’s cultural heritage, training programmes, research symposia, and exhibitions are being held at state and district levels. International research symposium was held at State Museum, Bhopal in year 2012. Under Narmada project, 34 monuments were re-located.
In view of outstanding works by State Government in archaeology sector, the Union Government has provided Rs. 18 crore under 12th Finance Commission and Rs. 175 crore under 13th Finance Commission for development and preservation of monuments in Madhya Pradesh.
