BKSR Ayyangar, who filed a petition with the PMO, sought to know the action taken by the Centre on his representation for declaring the temples historical and national heritage monuments, safety of the deity’s ornaments, particularly those donated by the Vijayanagara rulers, and implementation of the recommendations of the Justice Wadhwa and Justice Jagannatha Rao committees. OrnamentsThe issue of ornaments assumes significance in the backdrop of a report from the Director of Archaeology and Museums Hyderabad that no ornament tallied with any of those donated by the Vijayanagara rulers. The petitioner recalled that the TTD’s Specified Authority had on January 20, 2011, resolved to declare the temple and its group ‘ancient monuments’ under the provisions of the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958. The controversy deepened with the CIC, on August 30, asking the TTD to provide information as requested by the petitioner. It is against this backdrop that the letter issued by Mr. Aich on September 11 (a copy of which is with The Hindu), making it clear that the ASI, the State Archaeology Department, the Endowments Department and the TTD have the statutory obligation to answer the questions within the stipulated time — Sept. 28 — when the matter comes up for hearing, assumes importance.

Source: The Hindu September 26, 2018 18:52 UTC