NMA chairman Basa gets additional charge of DG, ASI

National Monuments Authority's Chairman K K Basa has been given the additional charge of the post of director general of the Archaeological Survey of India, officials said on Saturday.

The Ministry of Culture recently issued an order to this effect, a senior ASI official told PTI.

"Prof. Kishore K Basa, Chairman, National Monuments Authority, is hereby entrusted the additional charge of Director General, Archaeological Survey of India, for a period of six months w.e.f. 10.05.2023 or till regular posting is made or till further orders, whichever is earlier," reads the order issued by the ministry on May 10.

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Prior to Basa, ASI's Additional Director General (Conservation and World Heritage) Janhwij Sharma was given charge as the director general of the ASI, official sources said.

Sharma was given the charge of the post soon after V Vidyavathi, a 1991-batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, was relieved of the charge of the top post.

She was serving as the ASI director general until recently when she was appointed the Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Tourism.

Vidyavathi was appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Tourism in the rank and pay of a secretary to the government, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions on April 20.

The officer will take over as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism after the superannuation of Arvind Singh, a 1988-batch IAS officer, on May 31 this year, it said.

The Archaeological Survey of India was established in 1861 for carrying out excavation, archaeological researches and ensuring protection of the cultural heritage.

Headquartered in New Delhi, it comes under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, and there are a total of 3,696 heritage sites in India protected by the ASI.