**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer to Unstarred Question No. 2490, posed in Lok Sabha, regarding the functioning of the National Monuments Authority (NMA). The response, dated December 15, 2025, clarifies the NMA's role in processing applications for activities around protected monuments, the existence of guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and their details. The Minister of Culture and Tourism (Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat) provided the answer.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **National Monuments Authority (NMA):**
* Constituted under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, as amended in 2010.
* Regulates construction, repair, renovation, and other development activities in prohibited and regulated areas of protected monuments and sites notified by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
* Functions through its Headquarters in New Delhi and Competent Authorities notified for different locations.
* **Application Process:**
* NMA receives and processes applications from across India, including the State of Goa.
* Applicants must submit requisite documents (site plans, ownership records, structural details, project proposals).
* The Competent Authority examines the proposal at the field level and submits recommendations to the NMA.
* NMA assesses the impact on the monument's preservation, safety, security, visual integrity, and access before issuing its final recommendation.
* **Heritage Bye-Laws:**
* NMA approves heritage bye-laws prepared by the Competent Authority in consultation with expert heritage bodies (as per Section 20E of AMASR Act, 1958).
* These bye-laws guide physical, social, and economic intervention by prescribing building-related guidelines for prohibited or regulated areas of ASI-protected monuments or sites.
* They ensure compliance with AMASR Act, 1958, and its rules.
**Impact Analysis**
**Applicants for Construction/Repair near Protected Monuments:**
* **Impact:** Subject to the regulations and procedures of the NMA for any construction, repair, renovation or other developmental activities around protected monuments and sites.
* **Action Required:** Submit all required documentation (site plans, ownership records, structural details, project proposals) to the NMA and comply with any additional requirements.
**Competent Authority:**
* **Impact:** Responsible for examining proposals at the field level, preparing and recommending heritage bye-laws in consultation with expert heritage bodies
* **Action Required:** Examine the proposal at the field level and submit recommendations to NMA. Prepare and recommend heritage bye-laws in consultation with expert heritage bodies.
**Citizens/Public:**
* **Impact:** Affected by development activities near protected monuments and sites.
* **Action Required:** Ensure compliance with the provisions of AMASR Act, 1958, and its rules and any applicable heritage bye-laws.
Key Entities Referenced
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958: Act that governs the regulation of construction, repair, renovation, and other developmental activities near protected monuments and sites.
National Monuments Authority (NMA): Authority constituted under the AMASR Act, mandated to regulate activities within prohibited and regulated areas around protected monuments and sites.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI): Notifies protected monuments and sites, the ASI's protected monuments or sites fall under the purview of the act.
Goa: Location where the policy and act apply.
Heritage Bye-Laws: Approved by the National Monuments Authority (NMA) for protected monuments and sites, intended to guide physical, social and economic intervention, and prescribe building related guidelines.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2490
TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025
FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL MONUMENTS AUTHORITY
2490. SHRI CAPTAIN VIRIATO FERNANDES:
Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state :-
(a) the status of constitution and functioning of the National Monuments Authority in
relation to processing of applications and permissions for repair, construction or other
activities in prohibited and regulated areas around protected monuments in Goa;
(b) whether any guidelines or Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are in place to ensure
compliance with the Act; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF CULTURE AND TOURISM
(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)
(a) The National Monuments Authority (NMA) has been constituted under the provisions of
the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, as
amended in 2010. The Authority is mandated to regulate construction, repair, renovation and
other developmental activities within the prohibited and regulated area of protected
monuments and sites notified by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The Authority
functions through its Headquarters in New Delhi and Competent Authorities notified for
different locations in the country. NMA receives and processes all applications from across
India including State of Goa for undertaking repair, renovation, construction, or other
developmental activities falling within the prohibited or regulated areas of protected
monuments and sites. The applicants are required to submit all requisite documents, including
site plans, ownership records, structural details, and project proposals. The Competent
Authority examines the proposal at the field level and submits its recommendations to NMA
indicating the impact of the proposed construction on the protected monument or site. The
Authority makes an assessment on the basis of material in its possession or monuments
specific Heritage Bye-Laws where notified, that such repair or renovation or re-construction
or construction is not likely to have an adverse impact on the preservation, safety, security,
visual integrity, or access to the protected monument considerably, before issuing its final
recommendation.
(b) & (c) In terms of the provisions of Section 20E of AMASR Act,1958 (as amended in
2010), the National Monuments Authority (NMA) approves Heritage bye-laws for protected
monuments and sites prepared by the Competent Authority in consultation with expert
heritage bodies as notified by the Central Government. These Heritage bye-laws intended toguide physical, social and economic intervention prescribe building related guidelines for the
prohibited or regulated area of the ASI-protected monuments or sites, thereby ensuring
compliance with the provisions of AMASR Act,1958 and the rules frame thereunder.
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