Bhubaneswar: Several eminent persons associated with Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (Intach) have expressed concern over the tardy progress in conservation work of the 13th century Sun Temple at Konark.

The temple was declared a world heritage site in 1984.

During a meeting here on Thursday, Intach took stock of the present condition of the monument and accused the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of "lacking a sense of urgency to address basic problems".

Intach officials said it was time the ASI came out of its "debilitating inertia" and "authoritarian callousness" and address the problems in a "transparent" manner.

The problems plaguing the Sun Temple that came up for discussion included strength of the monument's foundation, evacuation of sand from Jag mohan to assess the extent of damage, treatment of sculptured stones and replacement of damaged ones, drainage problems, listing of documents and environment protection.

Intach said the ASI had taken over the Sun Temple in 1939, but had not yet been able to decide whether or not to evacuate sand from its Jag mohan, which was filled during 1903-1908 by the then Bengal government to "prevent collapse of the structure and any further damage".