New Delhi. Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs Shri V. Narayanasamy has said that Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is responsible for those monuments which have been declared as of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and there are 13 such monuments under the jurisdiction of ASI in Ladakh Region of Jammu and Kashmir State. In addition to this, a number of Buddhist monasteries, including stupas, cave, temples, sites and rock carvings and engravings had been identified in Leh, Nobra and Zanskar regions of archaeological and artistic importance.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today he said, The Archaeological Survey of India has no information on vanishing of unprotected sites in Ladakh region. The conservation, preservation, and maintenance of monuments declared as of national importance by way of structural repairs are undertaken on need basis as per the established archaeological norms.