Names of 10 geological sites sent for inclusion in world heritage list, says government

The Centre on Sunday said the names of 10 geological sites sent to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for inclusion in the list of world heritage sites are under scrutiny.

Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao, during an event in the national capital, said there are about 1,200 world heritage sites worldwide, 42 of which are in India, but none of these are geological sites.

The Mines secretary said there are about 100 geo-heritage sites in India, of which 32 have been officially recognised asNational Geological Heritage Monument Sites, but these National Geological Monuments are known mostly as tourism sites, and people are not aware of their geological importance.

Stressing the recognition of at least two geo-parks in coming years in India, PTI quoted the Mines secretary as saying,” We need to work together.”

The top mining official said unlike archaeological sites, there is no legislation to protect geo-heritage sites. The Geo Heritage Sites and Geo-relics Bill, 2022, which aims to protect India's geological heritage, are still under process.

The Mines secretary said the country has excellent geo-heritage sites like Lunar crater in Maharashtra, Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh,Columnar Basalt at St. Mary’s Island in Karnataka and Gandikota gorge in Andhra Pradesh. Each of these geological monuments offer invaluable insights into the history of Earth science, serving as markers of our planet’s evolutionary history.

Rao said there is another global designation known as International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) sites and some of the sites have been recognised in Sikkim.

Rao further requested UNESCO to provide support in getting recognition to some of the Indian sites as UNESCO Global Geopark to showcase not only the earth's geological past, but celebrate cultural connections to the land. At present, there are 213 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries.