 bill no  180 of  2017 the archaeological and natural heritage conservation  bill, 2017 byshrimati kavitha kalvakuntla, mpa billto provide for the constitution of a board for the conservation of archaeological and natural heritage and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretowhereas the united nations educational scientific and archaeological organization convention concerning the protection of the world archaeological and natural heritage was held in paris in 1972, which india ratified in 1977 to ensure effective and active measures for protection, conservation and presentation of the archaeological and natural heritage situated on the territory of each state party;and whereas, it is expedient and necessary to enact a law for the purpose of implementing the decisions to take appropriate legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary for the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and rehabilitation of archaeological and natural heritagebe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-eighth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the archaeological and natural heritage conservation act, 2017short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india (3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appointdefinition2 (1) in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—5(a) 'board' means the archaeological and natural heritage conservation board constituted under section 3;(b) 'convention' means the united nations educational, scientific and archaeological organization convention concerning the protection of the world archaeological and natural heritage held in paris in 1972 and ratified by india in 1977;10(c) 'archaeological heritage' includes the following:—(i) 'ancient monument' and 'archaeological sites and remains' defined in clauses (a) and (d), respectively, of section 2 of the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains act, 1958;15(ii) monuments, that is to say, architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwelling and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science;20(iii) groups of buildings, groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science;(iv) sites, that is to say, works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view;25(d) "natural heritage" includes,—(i) natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas which are of outstanding value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty;30(ii) geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated area which constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants and are of outstanding value from the point of view of science or conservation;(iii) natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of outstanding value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view; and35(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act24 of 1958 45 of 1860 2 of 1974(2) the words and expressions used in this act but not defined herein and defined in the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains act, 1958 or the indian penal code, 1860 or the code of criminal procedure, 1973 shall have the same meaning, respectively, assigned to them in those acts403 (1) the central government, shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a board to be known as the archaeological and natural heritage conservation board for carrying out the purposes of this act(2) the board shall consist of, constitution of the archaeological heritage conservation board45(a) a chairperson to be appointed by the central government, from amongst the persons having such knowledge and experience, as may be prescribed;(b) fourteen other members to be appointed by the central government from amongst the persons who have knowledge and experience in the field of archaeology, history, architecture, conservation, science and technology, environment science, town and country planning or public administration:5provided that the chairperson and the members of the board shall be appointedin consultation with the leaders of opposition of both the houses of parliament(3) the chairperson and every member of the board shall hold office for a period of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office10(4) the salary and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of the chairperson and the members of the board shall be such as may be prescribed(5) the terms and conditions of  the office, including the method of filling casual vacancies in the board, and the procedure for removal or disqualification of the chairperson or a member of the board, shall be such as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify15(6) the board may, with the approval of the central government, make regulations for regulating its own procedure(7) the board shall have a secretariat consisting of such number of officers and employees as may be prescribed20(8) the salary and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of, the officers and employees of the secretariat shall be such as may be prescribed4 the board shall:—functions of the board(i) to monitor the implementation of obligations under the convention and issue such directions as it may consider necessary and expedient for the effective implementation of such obligations;25(ii) to advise to the central government on identification, safe-keeping, conservation and preservation of archaeological heritage and natural heritage;(iii) to issue such directions as it considers necessary to ensure safety, security, conservation and management of archaeological heritage and natural heritage;30(iv) to cause or undertake an inquiry and initiate legal action in consultation with the central government, in case of offences relating to archaeological heritage and natural heritage sites;(v) to take such measures as it may consider necessary for implementation of the provisions of this act; and35(vi) to undertake such other functions as may be assigned to it by the central government for carrying out the purposes of this actoffences5 whoever—(i) damages or causes any damage to archaeological heritage or natural heritage site; or40(ii)indulges in any propaganda with the intention of causing any damage to as archaeological heritage or natural heritage site; or24 of 1958(iii) commits any offence under section 30 of the ancient monuments andarchaeological sites and remains act, 1958; or(iv) commits or omits to commit any act in relation to archaeological heritage or natural heritage sites, which is an offence under any other law for the time being in force;45shall be guilty of committing an offence under this actpunishment6 any person who commits any offence under section 5 shall be punishable withrigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both57 notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force,proceedings of committing an offence under this act may be instituted after the expiry of the period of limitationproceedings after the expiry of the period of limitation8 notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, anoffence punishable under this act shall be deemed to be a cognizable offencean offence under the act to be a cognizable offence109 it shall be the duty of every person holding a civil post in connection with the affairsof the union or a state to assist the board in discharge of its functionsevery personholding a civil post to assist the board10 the provisions of this act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in forceact to have overriding effect11 the provisions of this act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in forceprovisions of the act to be in addition to other laws15annual report12 (1) the board shall prepare an annual report, in such form and manner, as may beprescribed(2) the board shall submit the annual report to the central government(3) the annual report shall be laid by the central government, as soon as may be afterit is received, before each house of parliament:20provided that the board may also submit interim report or reports to the centralgovernment, which shall cause the report to be laid, as soon as may be after it is received, before each house of parliamentpower to make rules13 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rulesfor carrying out the purposes of this act25 30(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement of objects and reasonsthe united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) in its17th general assembly meeting on 16th november, 1972 adopted a convention relating to the conservation of world archaeological and natural heritage india has ratified this convention on 14th november, 1977 hence, it is in our own interest to implement this convention and enact a law to give effect to the provisions of the convention for the conservation of archaeological heritage, a suitable mechanism for vigilance and monitoring is needed these purposes would be better served if a board to be known as the archaeological and natural heritage conservation board is set up to work as a watchdog agency for the conservation, upkeep and maintenance of the archaeological heritage and natural heritage sites in the countrythe terms 'archaeological heritage' and 'natural heritage' have been given a very comprehensive meaning to include all archaeological and natural heritage, provided for in the convention and the terms also cover the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains defined in the ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains act, 1958our archaeological and natural heritage sites are vulnerable even now we all know that people who visit such sites are not sensitive enough to try and keep such sites well maintained it is a common practice to deface our monuments by inscribing names on them there have also been other cases of vandalism against our archaeological and natural heritage sites keeping in view the increasing number of crimes against such sites, there is a need to provide for punitive action for such crimesthe bill seeks to achieve the above objectives hence this billnew delhikavitha  kalvakuntlajuly 26, 2017 financial  memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for the constitution of a archaeological and natural heritage conservation board for the conservation of the archaeological sites in the country the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve a recurring expenditure of rupees one hundred crore per annuma non-recurring expenditure of rupees one hundred and fifty crores is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 3 of the bill empowers the board to make regulation for regulating its ownclause 13 empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill the matters in respect of which rules and regulations may be made are matters of administrative details and procedure and, as such, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal characteras the rules and regulations will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for the constitution of a board for the conservation of archaeological and natural heritage and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————(smt kavitha kalvakuntla, mp)gmgipmrnd—2240ls(s3)—23102017