PESHAWAR, Oct 15: All the four provinces have agreed to take over historical monuments and archaeological sites if the federal government distributes funds on proportionate basis for the staff, preservation and other services, officials said.

The federal government has constituted a six-member sub-committee on the decentralization of the department of archaeology to hand over some 300 monuments and archaeological sites of national and international importance to the provinces.

The committee led by Prof Farid Khan finalized modalities and recommendations regarding the decentralization of heritage culture in its last meeting of the series held in Taxila on Oct 11.

The committee will soon submit its report to the prime minister. Under the proposed decentralization plan, the NWFP will take over 80 archaeological sites and monuments in the province which are currently managed by the federal government. Some sites have been put on the world heritage list.

“The provinces are ready to decentralize the department of archaeology, if the centre transfers financial and human resources to the units,” an official told Dawn here on Wednesday.

The committee recommended that instead of running a fully-fledge department of archaeology, the government should form a committee at the federal level to deal with the matters related to national heritage.

The provinces believed that national heritage had been neglected in the past, which caused severe damages to the national monuments and archaeological sites, the official said, adding that the Centre had been requested to provide sufficient funds for this purpose.

The federal government should retain only the national museum, central archaeological library, antiquities trade control, a Lahore-based training institute and international licensing for excavation, the meeting was of the view.

The provinces, according to the official, had proposed to constitute a national committee to deal with matters which might arise from time to time related to the management of heritage sites and fulfil international obligations.

It was also recommended that archaeology should be declared a provincial subject and physical heritage should not be handed over to the district governments due to lack of financial resources and expertise. However, sources said, committees could be set up to look after the issues of heritage at the district level.

The four provinces have also suggested that the federal government should amend Antiquities Act 1975 and allow the provinces to enact their own laws.