OLD GOA
Four individuals, including former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes, have filed complaint with Old Goa police against various authorities for facilitating destruction of antiquities of archaeological importance.
The complaint has been filed against Director of Tourism, Chief Town Planner, National Monuments Authority, ASI Superintending Archaeologist, Chief Conservator of Forests, Directorate of Archives and Archaeology and the Contractor who undertook excavation of the Tourism Department's project site in Old Goa.
Later, speaking to reporters, Gomes opined that under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, the said excavation should have been undertaken under supervision of an expert which did not happen.
"In case of any authorised work in a heritage area, AMASR Act mandates procedural safeguards which was not done while excavation work was undertaken in the Arsenal area where canon balls were found," Gomes pointed out while adding that the area should have been immediately sealed and all work stopped.
"But the authorities failed to act and the contractor continued with the excavation with heavy machinery. It was only after the locals made noise that the ASI stopped the work," Gomes stated.
"All the above named have failed to fulfil their legal obligations under the AMASR Act when dealing with such sites and have jointly contravened the provisions of the AMASR Act and are liable for punishment under section 30 read with sections, 32, 21, 22, 30A, 30B of the said Act read with the BNS, the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 and any other applicable laws of the land," the complaint states.
