CUTTACK: The dispute over construction of boundary wall around Sisupalgarh took a new turn on Wednesday with the Assistant Solicitor General of India Prasanna Parhi informing the Orissa High Court that the State government is yet to demarcate the entire protected area of the ancient site.
Parhi made the submission on behalf of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a counter to State counsel Debakanta Mohanty’s claim before the Court that 0.775 acre of the Sisupalgarh ruins have been notified after demarcating the boundary around it with the pillar postings.
Mohanty claimed that there is no encroachment by any private person as far as the 0.775 acre is concerned and construction of the boundary wall around it is the sole responsibility of ASI as it is within its protected area. The Court was hearing the PIL filed by Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) 14 years back for protection of the site.
The more than 2,000-year-old remains of a fortified city at Sisupalgarh on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar were excavated by ASI in 1948. Subsequently, an area of 562.681 acre was declared as an ancient monument on November 13, 1950. As most of the protected areas were encroached over the years, only 0.775 acre in Sisupalgarh was recorded in the name of ASI as per the settlement Record of Rights (ROR) in 1982.
The division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice B P Routray had sought response from ASI with regards to the affidavit filed by the State government and steps to be taken to check further encroachments in the protected area. The bench expected ASI to file the response by way of an affidavit a week before the next date on December 15.
In the affidavit, State Archaeology’s Superintendent Aswini Satpathy had stated that the Culture department after completion of demarcation of land had on June 18, 2021 written a letter to the ASI, Bhubaneswar Circle to take immediate steps for construction of the boundary wall in compliance of the Court order.