The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has sought to know whether archaeology courses were being conducted properly in universities. To ascertain the same, the court suo motu impleaded the Registrars of Tamil University, Thanjavur and University of Madras, Chennai.
Hearing a batch of public interest litigation petitions pertaining to archaeological excavations in the State, a Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and B. Pugalendhi sought to know whether there were vacancies in teaching staff positions of archaeological courses and if yes, how many such posts were vacant.
The Deputy Director of Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department R. Sivanandam said that courses in archaeology were available in the two universities and students had shown interest in archaeology and epigraphy. There is scope for them in the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department and the Archaeological Survey of India, he submitted.
The court also wanted the State to decide on the proposal sent by the State Archaeological Department regarding the appointment of 50 caretakers at various monuments. 50 such caretakers have already been appointed to safeguard the monuments, the court was informed.
The government has prescribed ₹5000 as consolidated pay. The caretakers are required to stay at the monuments for about 12 hours per day. The emoluments should be fixed appropriately, the court observed, to expect accountability and responsibility from the caretakers.
Further, the court took cognisance of the fact that erection of information boards about archaeological sites in important junctions like bus stands, railway stations and airports were yet to be carried out. Steps must be taken to carry out the same, the judges said.
The case was adjourned till December 18.
