Patna: Telhara, the pet archaeological project of chief minister Nitish Kumar in his home district of Nalanda, has not got an excavation licence from the standing committee of the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA) for the second year running.
The blow comes despite Nitish writing to the central government, and also to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last month about the significance of the site and seeking permission for further excavations.
Modi marked the letter to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as well.
This is the second consecutive year that permission has been denied. During the diggings between 2009 and 2014, Telhara yielded remains of a huge Buddhist monastery, whose foundation was laid in the 1st century AD and survived till the 12th century AD.
Nitish had taken personal interest in the site during his first full-term as chief minister and kept requesting ASI to excavate it. But when no progress happened, the state archaeology directorate was moved in.
It was granted permission by the CABA standing committee and Nitish launched the digs on December 26, 2009. Since then, excavation has been done for five consecutive sessions - the last one in 2014 - during which remains of the monastery and invaluable artefacts came up.
"Excavations at Telhara have already revealed that the site was occupied by people even in the 1st century BC. We wonder what else will be discovered if the diggings are continued. It (ASI) should understand that it has the responsibility to remove the layer of dust covering the pages of our history," Nitish said on Monday after inaugurating the Rajgir Mahotsav.
Historians and archaeologists assert that Telhara monastery was an educational institution for higher studies or research, and predates the ancient Nalanda University.
State archaeology director Atul Kumar Verma, who led the excavations at Telhara, pointed out that the monastery has been elaborately described by Chinese travellers Hiuen Tsang (AD 602-664) and I-Tsing (AD 635 -713) in their accounts.
An ASI source said excavation licence has been denied because the state archaeology directorate has not submitted any report on the past diggings.
Verma disagreed, saying reports had been sent but ASI wanted them published in book form.
