Only 21 monuments untraceable: Culture ministry

Refuting a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor Aeneral (CAG) that 92 monuments across India were "missing", the culture ministry Tuesday said only 21 monuments were "untraceable".

Based on the report of the CAG, the ministry said field offices were asked to conduct a detailed verification of each monument under their jurisdiction that were reported as missing by the audit team.

"Necessary information has been received from the field offices of the ASI and it was revealed that out of 92 monuments, 65 monuments cannot be treated as missing or untraceable," said an official statement by the culture ministry.

The CAG in its report submitted to parliament last month had said 92 monuments went missing.

"The monuments which have been submerged under reservoirs, encroached upon or affected due to rapid urbanisation were also shown as missing by the audit team," the statement said.

The CAG also found cases of double notification by the Archaeological Survey of India since it did not maintain a centralised inventory of protected monuments with full details of the sites and structures.