Context:

The draft Geo-heritage Sites and Geo-relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2022, piloted by the Ministry of Mines, is seen as a step to conserve these sites and relics.

Need for the Bill:

• Cultural history and man-made artifacts from archaeology receive more attention and preservation efforts than natural “geo-history” like rock formations, sediment, and fossils.
• For decades now, researchers have been warning that this neglect is leading to an erasure of this history from the public mind and a destruction as well as appropriation of this natural wealth. 

Provisions of the Bill:

• The Director General of the Geological Survey of India (GSI), a subordinate body of the Ministry of Mines, has the power to declare sites as having ‘geo-heritage’ value.
• He/she can prohibit construction 100 meters around such a site, penalise — with fines of up to ₹5 lakh and possibly imprisonment.

Issues with the bill:

• Absolute vesting of powers in the GSI alone may impede palaeontological research. 

Way forward: 

• They demand a more inclusive body, on the lines of a National Geoheritage Authority, that can, more democratically, decide on declaring sites as being of ‘geohistorical’ importance and how best to preserve artifacts and finds. 
• It is important to keep in mind that legislation, while acting as a ring fence, ought not to become a tool for suppressing independent investigation. 

News Source: The Hindu        

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