ASI allowed to engage ex-servicemen as monument attendants

With the Archaeological Survey of India facing staff shortage, mainly at the level of monument attendants, the organisation has been allowed to engage ex-servicemen for the task.
"The shortage of staff in ASI is most acutely felt in the sufficient numbers of monument attendants. To cope with the situation, ASI has been allowed to engage upto 1,000 monument attendants from ex-servicemen," Minister of Culture, Chandresh Kumari Katoch said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
She said, besides CISF (for Red Fort and Taj Mahal), state armed police, home guards, and private security guards have been engaged for watch and ward duty of monuments under the protection of ASI.

In reply to a separate question, the Minister said that so far, 3,678 monuments or sites have been declared as that of national importance.
"These protected monuments or sites under the ASI are conserved, preserved maintained and developed on need basis," she said.
Katoch also said that her Ministry has spent Rs 3,047.91 crore out of a total outlay of Rs 3,524.11 crore in the 11th five year plan.
"The outlay for the 12th five-year-plan for the Ministry is Rs 7,275 crore," she informed the House.