Calcutta, Dec. 24: Neither the Bihar government nor the Centre is doing enough to preserve the glory of the ancient Nalanda University, the ruins of which were recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site earlier this year, said an award winning archaeologist who, apart from his many finds, once took the Obamas on a tour of Humayun's Tomb.

Karingamannu Kuzhiyil Muhammed, retired regional director (north) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), said it wasn't enough for a site to get Unesco heritage status.

"World Heritage is a big title. But many feel that the status changes the funding arrangements for the site. Unesco or the Centre doesn't pump in more funds when a site gets World Heritage tag. The responsibility is on the site authorities, the district administration, the state and the Centre. It's a collective effort to push for the publicity of the site," said Muhammed, who has received the Saarc environmental award for conservation of the Bateshwar temple complex, situated around 50km from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

Muhammed, who has excavated the Buddhist stupa of Kesaria built by Emperor Asoka and has received four national awards for maintaining properties such as Sanchi Stupa, Qutb Minar and Humayun's Tomb, said a World Heritage site should strive to become truly universal.

"Foreigners, the differently abled and locals, all should feel proud of the property. Look how the Taj (Mahal) is being maintained. The Nalanda University is the first universal varsity because by the 7th century it had students from across the globe. Paris University came up in the 12th century, the ones at Oxford and Cambridge in the 13th century AD. Yet they did not have students from all over the world. Nalanda did. It had a student-teacher ratio of 10,000:1,500. Isn't it humongous considering the time it was making heads turn?" Muhammed said.

So what should be the government's next step for the site? "The ruins of Nalanda cover just 20 per cent of the entire ancient varsity. The whole area should be excavated. People have the right to see the Nalanda Mahavihara in its full glory. The funding should be so fat that the ASI should be able to excavate the entire varsity that still lies underneath," said Muhammed, who was in Calcutta to explain how he brokered a deal with the dreaded dacoits of Chambal to excavate 200 temples in Bateshwar.

Muhammed, who took the US first couple on a guided tour of Delhi's Humayun's Tomb - another World Heritage structure - during the Obamas' visit to India in 2010, said footfall should increase at Nalanda.

"The approach road, basics such as toilets, ATMs, phone booths, hotels and friendly pathways for kids and differently abled persons are some areas on which the government can start working on. Word of mouth and regular advertisements can increase footfall. When the footfall increases, the revenue model of the property changes. Then you can make the property a World Heritage site in the true sense," he said.