ASI begins work on plan to dismantle and rebuild roughly 1,100-year-old Mala Devi Temple in Vidisha

On 3 November 2026, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) began work on a plan to dismantle and rebuild the roughly 1,100-year-old Mala Devi Temple in Gyaraspur tehsil, Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh. The temple has not yet been dismantled.

Conservation plan and temple features

The ASI says the temple’s base has become weak and friable, raising concern about its stability. It has started documenting the stones and carvings, manually and digitally, and is preparing a new platform beneath the original base as part of the preservation plan.

The rock-cut temple is partly carved into a hillside; parts of its roof, sanctum and rear are integrated with the natural rock. Historian Govind Devalia dates its construction to the 9th–10th centuries, during the Gurjara-Pratihara period. Its sanctum appears Jain, while Hindu deities are carved at the entrance.

Important Facts for Exams

• Administrative oversight: The Archaeological Survey of India is an attached office of the Ministry of Culture, placing its conservation work within that ministry’s administrative structure.
• Scientific assessment: The ASI’s Science Branch has included investigating causes of monument deterioration and taking corrective action through chemical conservation.
• Conservation safeguards: Cultural-property conservation guidelines emphasise minimal intervention, appropriate and reversible methods, and full documentation of work undertaken.