New Delhi: There is no provision under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 to declare a site as a “Water Heritage Site” under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). However, the Ministry of Jal Shakti had constituted a Committee to identify 75 Water Heritage Structure (WHS) in reference to 75 years of India’s Independence.
A total of 421 nominations were received through States/UTs, Central Agencies, NGOs and general public and out of which Committee has recommended 75 water heritage structures, which includes 5 Water Heritage Structure from Gujarat and 4 Water Heritage Structure from Andhra Pradesh respectively. In this connection, “Jal-Itihas” sub-portal under India-WRIS portal, showcasing the 75 WHS, was launched (https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/) on 5th January, 2023 at the 1st All India State Ministers Conference on Water at Bhopal. State/UT wise details of these WHS are at Annexure. At present there is no central fund allocated/disbursed for maintenance of these sites.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
| Details of Water Heritage Structures | ||
| S.No. | States/UTs | Number of Water Heritage Structures |
| 1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 1 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 4 |
| 3 | Assam | 4 |
| 4 | Bihar | 2 |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | 1 |
| 6 | Delhi | 1 |
| 7 | Gujarat | 5 |
| 8 | Haryana | 3 |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | 1 |
| 10 | Jammu and Kashmir | 1 |
| 11 | Jharkhand | 1 |
| 12 | Karnataka | 5 |
| 13 | Kerala | 2 |
| 14 | Ladakh | 1 |
| 15 | Madhya Pradesh | 6 |
| 16 | Maharashtra | 4 |
| 17 | Manipur | 1 |
| 18 | Meghalaya | 1 |
| 19 | Mizoram | 1 |
| 20 | Odisha | 2 |
| 21 | Punjab | 1 |
| 22 | Puducherry | 1 |
| 23 | Rajasthan | 7 |
| 24 | Tamil Nadu | 7 |
| 25 | Telangana | 4 |
| 26 | Tripura | 1 |
| 27 | Uttar Pradesh | 4 |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 2 |
| 29 | West Bengal | 1 |
Source: https://indiawris.gov.in/wris
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