ASI tells officials not to talk to press. New memo invokes conduct rules

The memo, titled ‘Unauthorised Communication of Official Information’, was issued with the approval of ASI Director General Yadubir Singh Rawat on 27 July.

Outside the ASI headquarters, Dharohar Bhawan, in New Delhi | Krishan Murari | ThePrint

Jagdalpur: The Archaeological Survey of India issued an Office Memorandum Monday restricting its officials from interacting with the press.

The memo, titled ‘Unauthorised Communication of Official Information’, was issued with the approval of ASI Director General Yadubir Singh Rawat. It was sent to the heads of office for all ASI circles and branches across the country.

“It has been observed that officers of various field offices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are interacting directly with representatives of the press disseminating information relating to official matters, without obtaining prior approval of the Competent Authority or routing such information through the designated Media Spokesperson of ASI,” reads the document.

Joint Director General Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu is the agency’s spokesperson.

‘Serious misconduct’

In the last year, the issue has come up in ASI’s internal meetings several times.

“In many cases, it has been seen that archaeologists reveal information about the ongoing excavations just on the basis of unearthed artefacts. It’s time-taking work to reach some conclusion,” a senior official told ThePrint earlier this year.

However, the recent memo includes office matters, too. According to the new guideline, reporters must now contact the ASI spokesperson for any details.

The memo comes a few months after a report in ThePrint highlighted the sad state of ASI’s Institute of Archaeology, following which the culture ministry appointed an administrator to oversee the institute.

The memo mentions that in several instances, information pertaining to official activities has appeared in the media before it was brought to the notice of ASI headquarters.

“Attention is invited to Rule 11 of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964 which provide that no Government Servant shall… communicate, directly or indirectly, any official document or any part thereof or information to any Government Servant or any other person to whom he is not authorised to communicate such document or information,” the document said.

The ASI said instructions have been issued from time to time restraining government servants from communicating with the press without authorisation.

“But it is observed that the provisions of the Conduct Rules are not being followed in letter and spirit. It is once again reiterated that violation of the provisions of Conduct Rules is a serious misconduct,” the memo reads.

(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)