New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI) There is no proposal under consideration at present to declare any cultural site in Bihar a monument of national importance, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha.

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There are 70 monuments and sites in Bihar which have been declared as monuments of national importance and are under the Archaeological Survey of India.

In response to a query on whether the government proposes to declare any monument in Bihar, and Vaishali district as a monument of national importance, the minister said, "No such proposal is under consideration at present."

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Reddy also shared data on amounts spent on conservation and maintenance of the centrally-protected monuments and sites in Bihar during the last five years.

In 2018-19, a sum of Rs 1.76 crore was spent on the conservation and maintenance of such sites, while the corresponding figure in 2019-20 was Rs 1.45 crore, Rs 1.23 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 3.35 crore in 2021-22.

In 2022-23, Rs 7.21 crore has been spent on conservation and maintenance of the centrally-protected monuments and sites in Bihar till March 1, according to the data.

Reddy also shared data on revenue collected from entry fees at five centrally protected ticketed monuments in Bihar during the last three years.

In year 2020-21, Rs 0.87 crore was collected from these fives sites, Rs 1.50 crore in 2021-22, and Rs 3.38 crore in 2022-23 till February 28.

The minister also shared district-wise details on the number of ASI sites in Bihar.

A maximum of 11 of the 70 sites are located in Patna district, nine in Jehanabad district, eight in Nalanda district, and seven in West Champaran district, among others.

In response to another query on whether statues of Lord Buddha, inscriptions including monastery seals written in Pali language have been found during the excavation at Telhara located in archaeological site of Nalanda in Bihar, Reddy said, "Yes".

"During the excavation at Telhara conducted by Bihar State Department of Archaeology, the statues of Bodhisattva and seals associated with monastery having inscriptions in Sanskrit languages using Nagari script have been found," he said.

In another question, asked whether the Mahavihara University destroyed in 1198 AD was built in the first century, he said, "During the course of excavation, the structural remains datable from 1st century to 12th–13th centuries have been found."

The Directorate of Archaeology, government of Bihar, has "submitted a proposal to conduct archaeological excavation during the field season 2022-2," he said on a query on whether the government proposes to restart the excavation at Telhara.

Asked whether any resolution has been passed by the government to set up an Indian Heritage and Conservation Institute, the minister said, "There is no such proposal under consideration".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)