Amaravati’s Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh will face threat from capital development activities, former bureaucrat alerts Prime Minister

Former Energy Secretary warns PM Modi of threat to Amaravati's Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh due to development activities.

Former Union Energy secretary E.A.S. Sarma has alerted Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Buddhist archaeological site of Amaravati will be threatened in the name of development of the Andhra Pradesh’s capital city Amaravati.

He wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on the issues of conservation of archaeology and heritage sites across the country and the need for future generations.

In the letter, Mr. Sarma mentioned, “The NDA government has allocated ₹15,000 crore to the Andhra Pradesh government to develop its capital city at Amaravati. However, an ancient Buddhist archaeological site, about 25 km away from the to-be-developed capital city, which inspired the new capital, will face threat due to the real estate activities.”

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has the Amaravati area under its control. With its meagre resources, it is difficult to protect the present archaeological site and its surrounding areas. It is from Amaravati and other Buddhist hubs along the east coast of India that ancient Buddhist traditions spread far and wide, to Southeast Asia and even China. Protecting such sites would strengthen India’s traditional links to the East, he added.

Speaking about the Union Budget, Mr. Sarma said, “Unfortunately, the Finance Minister’s budget speech did not mention heritage or the budget allocation for the ASI reflects the Modi government’s commitment to respect and preserve heritage by strengthening the ASI. Compared to the huge subsidies provided in the budget to profit-making private industry, the ASI’s requirements are minimal.”