Due to a variety of factors like rapid urbanisation, construction of multistoreyed residential and commercial buildings, implementation of development projects, 35 protected monuments are not traceable in the country, Union Culture Minister Ambika Soni said in a written reply.
The states where these monuments are untraceable are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
While Delhi tops the list, with 12 historical monuments not been located, it is followed by Uttar Pradesh where eight monuments are untraceable. In Jammu and Kashmir, three monuments -- all in Kathura district -- are not traceable, the minister said.
Soni informed the House that ASI in 1992 has issued a notification declaring areas up to 100 metres from the protected limits of monuments of national importance as prohibited areas where all construction and mining activities are banned.
ASI protects 3,667 monuments of national importance in the country.
