Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Definitions-In this Act, unless the subject or context otherwise requires,- (i)"ancient or historical monument" means any archaeological building, structure, erection or monument or any tumulus, tomb or place of interment or any cave, rock-sculpture, rock- painting or sculpture of or on stone, metal, terracotta or other immovable object or any inscription or monolith, which is of historical, archaeological or artistic importance, interest or value, and includes – (a) any remains thereof, (b) the site thereof, (c) the portion of land adjoining such site which may be necessary or required for the preservation, protection, upkeep and maintenance of the same, and (d) the means of access thereto and of convenient inspection and repairs thereof; but does not include an ancient monument as defined in the Central Act, to which the provisions of that Act apply for the time being; (ii) "antiquity" means – (a) any coin, sculpture, epigraph, manuscript, record, document, picture, painting, printed matter or other work of art or craftsmanship, (b) any article, object or thing of historical, archaeological or artistic importance, interest or value, detached from a protected monument or collected from or discovered in a protected area; (c) any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs, morals or politics in bygone ages, and (d) any other article, object or thing of historical, archaeological or artistic importance, interest or value, and includes any article, object or thing which the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare, by reason of its historical or archaeological association, to be an antiquity for the purposes of this Act but does not include an antiquity as defined in the Central Act, to which the provisions of that Act apply for the time being; (iii) "archaeological officer" means an officer, of the Department of Archaeology of the State Government not below such rank as the State Government may from time to time prescribe; (iv) "archaeological site" means any mound indicating ancient habitation or any area which contains or is reasonably believed to contain ruins or relics of historical or archaeological importance, interest or value and includes – (a) any remains thereof, (b) the site thereof, (c) the portion of land adjoining such site which may be necessary or required for the preservation, protection, upkeep and maintenance thereof, and (d) the means of access thereto and of convenient inspection, repairs and excavation thereof, but does not include an archaeological site and remains as defined in the Central Act, to which the provisions of that Act apply for the time being; (v) "Central Act" means the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (Central Act 24 of 1958) as amended from time to time ; (vi) "Director" means the Director of Archaeology and Museums of the State and includes any officer appointed by the State Government to perform the duties of the Director under this Act ; (vii) "maintain", with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, includes the fencing, covering in, repairing, restoring and cleaning of an ancient or historical monument, an archaeological site or an antiquity or the doing of any act which may be necessary for the preservation, protection, upkeep or regulation of such monument, site or antiquity, or for securing convenient access thereto; (viii) "owner" used with reference to an ancient or historical monument, archaeological site or antiquity includes – (a) a joint owner invested with powers of management of or over such monument, site or antiquity on behalf of himself and other joint owners and the successor-in-title of any such owner, and (b) any manager or trustee exercising powers of such management and the successor-in-office of any such manager or trustee; (ix) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (x) “Protected” when used with reference to an ancient or historical monument or an archaeological site, means such monument or site which may be declared by the State Government under section 3 to be a protected monument or a protected area; and (xi) "Protected antiquity" means an antiquity declared by the State Government under section 3 to be a protected antiquity and includes any article, object or thing referred to in sub sub-clause (b) of clause (ii) 3.Power to declare monuments etc. to be protected - (1) The State Government may declare for the purposes of this Act – (i) any ancient or historical monument to be a protected monument, or (ii) any archaeological site to be a protected area, or (iii) any antiquity to be a protected antiquity. (2) Before making any such declaration as is referred to in sub-section (1), the State Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette give two month,s notice of its intention to do so and a copy of such notification along with a statement of the reasons for which such declaration is proposed to be made, shall be affixed in a conspicuous place at or near the ancient or historical monument or the archaeological site which is proposed to be declared as protected or on or near the place where or in which such monument or the antiquity proposed to be declared as protected is for the time being. (3) Any person interested in any such monument, archaeological site or antiquity may, within two months after the publication of such notification in the Official Gazette, object to the proposed declaration. (4) On the expiration of the said period of two months the State Government may, after considering the objections, if any, received by it, declare by notification in the Official Gazette - (i) an ancient or historical monument to be a protected monument, or (ii) an archaeological site to be a protected area, or (iii) an antiquity to be a protected antiquity. (4A) Notwithstanding anything contained in Sub-Sections (2) and (3), where the State Government is satisfied with respect to any monument, archaeological site or antiquity, that there is immediate danger of its removal or destruction, it may instead of proceeding under the said sub-sections, by Notification in the official Gazette and for reasons of its satisfaction to be recorded in such notification, forth with make a declaration under clauses (i), (ii) or (iii), as the case may be, of sub-section (4) in respect of any such monument, archaeological site or antiquity : Provided that any person interested in any such monument, archaeological site or antiquity may within two months after the publication of such notification object to the declaration so made and the State Government after giving to such person an opportunity of being heard, may by order in writing dismiss the objection or withdraw the notification."; and (ii) in sub-section (5), after the expression "under sub- section (4)", the expression "or under sub-section (4A)" shall be inserted.