Cuttack, Dec. 30: The Indian History Congress (IHC) today demanded an inquiry to identify the persons responsible for making the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) undertake excavation “in search of gold” at Dundia Khera in Uttar Pradesh.

“The demand was made in a resolution passed by the IHC at the 74th session which ended here today,” IHC local secretary Chandi Prasad Nanda said.

The ASI had started the excavation on October 18, around three months after seer Sobhan Sarkar allegedly told a Union minister that he had dreamt of a 1,000 tonne gold treasure buried on the fort premises at Dundia Khera.

“The IHC expected the inquiry to determine the amount of taxpayers’ money lost in it,” Nanda said.

The IHC in its resolution expressed its “great sense of indignation at the abuse of archaeology, perpetrated by the ASI by its excavation at Dundiakhera”. “Incidentally the irregularity of the excavation is shown by the fact that no proposal for it was brought before the standing committee of the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology even as it is an essential prerequisite for any excavation,” the resolution said.

The IHC further passed a resolution recommending establishment of the Odisha Council of Historical Research by the state government “to further the cause of history and archaeology in Odisha”.

“Such a council may be modelled with suitable modifications after the Indian Council of Historical Research (under the Union government) and the Kerala Council of Historical Research (under the state government of Kerala). It may be assigned funds to undertake research projects, publication programmes, awards of fellowships, etc., both within and outside the university system, mainly towards furthering the knowledge of the history of the people of Odisha and of their cultural traditions covering all aspects,” the resolution said.

In another resolution, the IHC called upon the government of India to put the Archaeological Survey of India the National Archives and the Indira Gandhi National Council of the Arts and the National Museum, under “the stewardship of professionally qualified persons through proper process of selection as expeditiously as possible”.

“The Centre consistently fails to take steps to fill the positions of their heads, when these fall vacant and assigns civil service officers, without their possessing any of the necessary qualifications for such positions, to head such institutions,” the IHC resolution said.